Competence in activities of daily living (ADL) was measured with the Groningen Activity Restriction Scale (GARS). Impression of the subject’s daily functioning, cognition, and mood was recorded in a standardized questionnaire, using a four-point scale (very good, good, poor, very poor). All subjects’ general practitioners or subject’s nursing home physicians were interviewed to assess the medical history for number of cardiovascular pathologies and chronic diseases, including diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), arthritis, malignancy, and Parkinson disease (PD), for each subject. For participants with severe cognitive impairment, information was obtained from a responsible person. Cognitive function was assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Severe cognitive impairment was defined as an MMSE score of 18 points or lower. In participants without severe cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms were measured with the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Cognitive speed was measured with two neuro-psychological tests, the Letter Digit Coding test (processing speed) and an abbreviated 40-item version of the Stroop test (attention). Memory was measured with the 12-Word Learning test, assessing immediate and delayed recall. Electrocardiograms were recorded and each year up to age 90 years blood pressure was measured twice a month with an interval of 2 weeks. A blood sample was taken. For all subjects, socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, marital state, and type of housing were available from the municipal registry. Mean income of neighbourhood of residence was used as indication of socio-economic status. Mean income after taxes in the neighbourhood of residence was obtained by postal codes. Pharmacists provided detailed information on all medication used by participants.

Competence in activities of daily living (ADL) was measured with the Groningen Activity Restriction Scale (GARS). Impression of the subject’s daily functioning, cognition, and mood was recorded in a standardized questionnaire, using a four-point scale (very good, good, poor, very poor). All subjects’ general practitioners or subject’s nursing home physicians were interviewed to assess the medical history for number of cardiovascular pathologies and chronic diseases, including diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), arthritis, malignancy, and Parkinson disease (PD), for each subject. For participants with severe cognitive impairment, information was obtained from a responsible person. Cognitive function was assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Severe cognitive impairment was defined as an MMSE score of 18 points or lower. In participants without severe cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms were measured with the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Cognitive speed was measured with two neuro-psychological tests, the Letter Digit Coding test (processing speed) and an abbreviated 40-item version of the Stroop test (attention). Memory was measured with the 12-Word Learning test, assessing immediate and delayed recall. Electrocardiograms were recorded and each year up to age 90 years blood pressure was measured twice a month with an interval of 2 weeks. A blood sample was taken. For all subjects socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, marital state, and type of housing were available from the municipal registry. Mean income of neighbourhood of residence was used as indication of socio-economic status. Mean income after taxes in the neighbourhood of residence was obtained by postal codes. Pharmacists provided detailed information on all medication used by participants

Competence in activities of daily living (ADL) was measured with the Groningen Activity Restriction Scale (GARS). Impression of the subject’s daily functioning, cognition, and mood was recorded in a standardized questionnaire, using a four-point scale (very good, good, poor, very poor). All subjects’ general practitioners or subject’s nursing home physicians were interviewed to assess the medical history for number of cardiovascular pathologies and chronic diseases, including diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), arthritis, malignancy, and Parkinson disease (PD), for each subject. For participants with severe cognitive impairment, information was obtained from a responsible person. Cognitive function was assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Severe cognitive impairment was defined as an MMSE score of 18 points or lower. In participants without severe cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms were measured with the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Cognitive speed was measured with two neuro-psychological tests, the Letter Digit Coding test (processing speed) and an abbreviated 40-item version of the Stroop test (attention). Memory was measured with the 12-Word Learning test, assessing immediate and delayed recall. Electrocardiograms were recorded and each year up to age 90 years blood pressure was measured twice a month with an interval of 2 weeks. A blood sample was taken. For all subjects socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, marital state, and type of housing were available from the municipal registry. Mean income of neighbourhood of residence was used as indication of socio-economic status. Mean income after taxes in the neighbourhood of residence was obtained by postal codes. Pharmacists provided detailed information on all medication used by participants

For all subjects socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, marital state, and type of housing were available from the municipal registry. Mean income of neighbourhood of residence was used as indication of socio-economic status. Mean income after taxes in the neighbourhood of residence was obtained by postal codes. Competence in activities of daily living (ADL) was measured with the Groningen Activity Restriction Scale (GARS). For participants with severe cognitive impairment, information was obtained from a responsible person. Cognitive function was assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Severe cognitive impairment was defined as an MMSE score of 18 points or lower. In participants without severe cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms were measured with the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Impression of the subject’s daily functioning, cognition, and mood was recorded in a standardized questionnaire, using a four-point scale (very good, good, poor, very poor). Cognitive speed was measured with two neuro-psychological tests, the Letter Digit Coding test (processing speed) and an abbreviated 40-item version of the Stroop test (attention). Memory was measured with the 12-Word Learning test, assessing immediate and delayed recall. All subjects’ general practitioners or subject’s nursing home physicians were interviewed to assess the medical history for number of cardiovascular pathologies and chronic diseases, including diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), arthritis, malignancy, and Parkinson disease (PD), for each subject. In addition, electrocardiograms were recorded. A blood sample was taken. Pharmacists provided detailed information on all medication used by participants. Each year up to age 90 years blood pressure was measured twice a month with an interval of 2 weeks.

Competence in activities of daily living (ADL) was measured with the Groningen Activity Restriction Scale (GARS). Impression of the subject’s daily functioning, cognition, and mood was recorded in a standardized questionnaire, using a four-point scale (very good, good, poor, very poor). All subjects’ general practitioners or subject’s nursing home physicians were interviewed to assess the medical history for number of cardiovascular pathologies and chronic diseases, including diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), arthritis, malignancy, and Parkinson disease (PD), for each subject. For participants with severe cognitive impairment, information was obtained from a responsible person. Cognitive function was assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Severe cognitive impairment was defined as an MMSE score of 18 points or lower. In participants without severe cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms were measured with the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Cognitive speed was measured with two neuro-psychological tests, the Letter Digit Coding test (processing speed) and an abbreviated 40-item version of the Stroop test (attention). Memory was measured with the 12-Word Learning test, assessing immediate and delayed recall. Electrocardiograms were recorded and each year up to age 90 years blood pressure was measured twice a month with an interval of 2 weeks. A blood sample was taken. For all subjects socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, marital state, and type of housing were available from the municipal registry. Mean income of neighbourhood of residence was used as indication of socio-economic status. Mean income after taxes in the neighbourhood of residence was obtained by postal codes. Pharmacists provided detailed information on all medication used by participants

Competence in activities of daily living (ADL) was measured with the Groningen Activity Restriction Scale (GARS). Impression of the subject’s daily functioning, cognition, and mood was recorded in a standardized questionnaire, using a four-point scale (very good, good, poor, very poor). All subjects’ general practitioners or subject’s nursing home physicians were interviewed to assess the medical history for number of cardiovascular pathologies and chronic diseases, including diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), arthritis, malignancy, and Parkinson disease (PD), for each subject. For participants with severe cognitive impairment, information was obtained from a responsible person. Cognitive function was assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Severe cognitive impairment was defined as an MMSE score of 18 points or lower. In participants without severe cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms were measured with the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Cognitive speed was measured with two neuro-psychological tests, the Letter Digit Coding test (processing speed) and an abbreviated 40-item version of the Stroop test (attention). Memory was measured with the 12-Word Learning test, assessing immediate and delayed recall. Electrocardiograms were recorded and each year up to age 90 years blood pressure was measured twice a month with an interval of 2 weeks. A blood sample was taken. For all subjects socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, marital state, and type of housing were available from the municipal registry. Mean income of neighbourhood of residence was used as indication of socio-economic status. Mean income after taxes in the neighbourhood of residence was obtained by postal codes. Pharmacists provided detailed information on all medication used by participants

All participants were followed up for mortality by municipality registration, and national recording of causes of death. Mortality data are available completely for all participants.