Table 1 Characteristics of the study population.

Mean age on 1 July 1997, years (SD)

57.7 (4.4)

58 (4.5)

63.2 (2)

63.2 (2)

Age group, n (%)

50 to 54 years

7,731 (34.8)

8,256 (32.9)

-

-

55 to 59 years

7,507 (33.8)

8,284 (33.0)

-

-

60 to 69 years

6,980 (31.4)

8,579 (34.2)

6,980 (100)

8,579 (100)

Education level*, n (%)

Short

3,115 (14.0)

5,119 (20.4)

1,146 (16.4)

2,270 (26.5)

Medium

12,256 (55.2)

13,530 (53.9)

3,923 (56.2)

4,465 (52.0)

Long

6,847 (30.8)

6,470 (25.8)

1,911 (27.4)

1,844 (21.5)

Cohabitation status^†, n (%)

Together

18,144 (81.7)

17,253 (68.7)

5,741 (82.2)

5,583 (65.1)

Alone

4,074 (18.3)

7,866 (31.3)

1,239 (17.8)

2,996 (34.9)

Overall health score

Mean (SD), points

4.2 (1.8)

5.0 (1.7)

4.1 (1.8)

5 (1.7)

0 points, n (%)

417 (1.9)

135 (0.5)

142 (2.0)

41 (0.5)

1 point, n (%)

1,127 (5.1)

423 (1.7)

362 (5.2)

146 (1.7)

2 points, n (%)

2,705 (12.2)

1,426 (5.7)

873 (12.5)

500 (5.8)

3 points, n (%)

3,620 (16.3)

2,867 (11.4)

1,193 (17.1)

1,001 (11.7)

4 points, n (%)

4,676 (21.0)

4,535 (18.1)

1,566 (22.4)

1,614 (18.8)

5 points, n (%)

4,301 (19.4)

5,572 (22.2)

1,308 (18.7)

1,924 (22.4)

6 points, n (%)

3,089 (13.9)

4,898 (19.5)

919 (13.2)

1,617 (18.8)

7 points, n (%)

1,815 (8.2)

3,480 (13.9)

490 (7.0)

1,157 (13.5)

8 points, n (%)

441 (2.0)

1,564 (6.2)

118 (1.7)

497 (5.8)

9 points, n (%)

27 (0.1)

219 (0.9)

9 (0.1)

82 (1.0)

Smoking status, n (%)

Never

6,056 (27.3)

11,425 (45.5)

1,659 (23.8)

3,701 (43.1)

Former

7,593 (34.2)

5,806 (23.1)

2,664 (38.2)

2,253 (26.3)

Current

8,569 (38.6)

7,888 (31.4)

2,657 (38.1)

2,625 (30.6)

Waist circumference, n (%)

 < 80/94 cm

10,782 (48.5)

13,129 (52.3)

3,162 (45.3)

4,163 (48.5)

80/94–88/102 cm

6,759 (30.4)

6,165 (24.5)

2,185 (31.3)

2,195 (25.6)

 > 88/102 cm

4,677 (21.1)

5,825 (23.2)

1,633 (23.4)

2,221 (25.9)

Sport activity min. 30

min/week, n (%)

Yes

11,191 (50.4)

14,933 (59.4)

3,170 (45.4)

5,006 (58.4)

No

11,027 (49.6)

10,186 (40.6)

3,810 (54.6)

3,573 (41.6)

Alcohol, n (%)

 < 7/14 units/week

12,827 (57.7)

15,244 (60.7)

4,141 (59.3)

5,454 (63.6)

7/14–14/21 units/week

2,668 (12.0)

5,344 (21.3)

837 (12.0)

1,695 (19.8)

 > 14/21 units/week

6,723 (30.3)

4,531 (18.0)

2,002 (28.7)

1,430 (16.7)

Diet score, n (%)

0

17,339 (78.0)

12,205 (48.6)

5,363 (76.8)

4,095 (47.7)

1

4,683 (21.1)

11,565 (46.0)

1,554 (22.3)

4,013 (46.8)

2–4

196 (0.9)

1,349 (5.4)

63 (0.9)

471 (5.5)

Whole grains, n (%)

 ≥ 75 g/10 MJ

1,857 (8.4)

2,764 (11.0)

627 (9.0)

985 (11.5)

 < 75 g/10 MJ

20,361 (91.6)

22,355 (89.0)

6,353 (91.0)

7,594 (88.5)

Fruit and vegetables, n (%)

 ≥ 600 g/d

1,596 (7.2)

3,771 (15.0)

483 (6.9)

1,270 (14.8)

 < 600 g/d

20,622 (92.8)

21,348 (85.0)

6,497 (93.1)

7,309 (85.2)

Red meat, n (%)

 ≤ 350 g/week

1,384 (6.2)

7,225 (28.8)

504 (7.2)

2,584 (30.1)

 > 350 g/week

20,834 (93.8)

17,894 (71.2)

6,476 (92.8)

5,995 (69.9)

Processed meat, n (%)

 ≤ 70 g/week

1,228 (5.5)

5,847 (23.3)

409 (5.9)

1,963 (22.9)

 > 70 g/week

20,990 (94.5)

19,272 (76.7)

6,571 (94.1)

6,616 (77.1)

At end of follow-up

Median follow-up, years (IQR)

21.5 (18.8–21.5)

21.5 (21.5–21.5)

21.5 (14.7–21.5)

21.5 (19.0–21.5)

Morbidity count, n (%)

0

7,571 (34.1)

10,972 (43.7)

1,701 (24.4)

2,842 (33.1)

1

9,070 (40.8)

9,556 (38.0)

2,956 (42.3)

3,602 (42.0)

 ≥ 2

5,577 (25.1)

4,591 (18.3)

2,323 (33.3)

2,135 (24.9)

Median time to first diagnosis^╪, years (IQR)

9.9 (5.3–15)

10.2 (5.1–15.4)

8.7 (4.3–13.6)

9.6 (4.8–15.0)

Hospitalizations^§, n (%)

Yes

20,861 (94.5)

23,680 (94.5)

6,668 (96.5)

8,271 (96.8)

No

1,206 (5.5)

1,365 (5.5)

239 (3.5)

274 (3.2)

Days of hospitalization/year^§

Median (IQR)

1.0 (0.3–2.8)

0.8 (0.3–2.1)

1.7 (0.7–4.2)

1.4 (0.5–3.3)

Mean

2.6

2.2

3.6

3.1