Abstract

In the period March to June 1990 the thirty-year follow-up examinations of the Zutphen Study were carried out. All 718 men of the cohort who were still alive in 1990 were invited to participate in the study. Of these men, 560 (78%) were examined. The age of these men varied between 70 and 89. For all 158 men who did not participate a non-response questionnaire was filled out. The examinations consisted of four parts: a medical examination, a glucose tolerance test, a dietary survey and a questionnaire about lifestyle factors. The examinations were carried out in a similar way as in 1985. The parts that were added to the examination mainly concerned functional and mental capacities in older age.