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Healthy aging

Focusing on the elderly from 1984 onwards

Because the cohorts of the Seven Countries Study and the general population were growing older, a decision was made to follow the increasingly older cohorts to study aging in the elderly – and its associations with various factors including diet and lifestyle.

The small cohort of survivors in Zutphen was supplemented with a new community sample of the same age. Thus, new studies were started in the elderly with a focus not only on the determinants of cardiovascular disease but also on healthy aging.

The FINE study and the HALE project assessed what healthy aging actually entailed and studied, in particular, the influence of diet, lifestyle and risk factors on different aspects of health.

Lifestyle, diet and optimism

A healthy diet, especially eating more fruit, vegetables, and whole grain bread was related to a higher level of optimism.

Lifestyle, diet and optimism

Functional status and disability

The number of self-reported disabilities was positively related to the performance-based limitations score and did not differ between countries.

Functional status and disability

Optimism and depressive symptoms

The results suggest that optimistic elderly men are at a lower risk to develop depressive symptoms.

Optimism and depressive symptoms

Fish, omega-3 fatty acids and cognitive decline

An analysis of the 1990 fish consumption data and the data on cognitive function collected showed that fish consumers had significantly less cognitive decline than non-consumers.

Fish, omega-3 fatty acids and cognitive decline

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