of cardiovascular pathologies was assessed at base- line. No associations with the prevalence of myo- cardial infarction, myocardial ischemia, intermittent claudication and stroke were found for the different polymorphisms (Table 4).

1 Baseline characteristics of the Leiden 85-plus Study 552 85 366 (66%) living 451 (82%) profile (mmol/l) 0.49 (0.15) protein (mg/l) 2.83 (4.26) (mmol/l) 1.31 (0.40) (mmol/l) 3.67 (0.97) (mmol/l) 1.40 (1.58) (mmol/l) 5.79 (1.09) BMI (kg/m2) 26.3 (5.17) 27.7 (4.74) (kg) 74.5 (15.2) 67.5 (12.7 ) (cm) 168.1 (6.49) 156.2 (6.24) (cm) 178.1 (7.31) 162.5 (7.03) pathologies infarction 134 (24%) ischemia 280 (51%) claudication 34 (6%) 56 (10%) profile and body composition values presented as (SD), except for C-reactive protein where geometric (SD) is presented the 4.2-year follow-up, 278 (50%) of the had died, of which 115 (41%) of deaths due to cardiovascular disease. The Kaplan– estimates of cumulative mortality indicated carriers of BclI polymorphism have lower mortality during the follow-up compared to (Fig. 1). The allcause mortality risk for the BclI variant was 0.85 (0.67–1.08). mortality analyses revealed no in survival for any of the ER22/23EK, and BclI polymorphism carriers (Fig. 1). The remained unaltered after repeating the analy- men and women separately. the above mentioned analyses were also with independently living participants in order to implement the selection criteria other studies (van Rossum et al. 2003, 2004a). analyses did not reveal additional associations, those observed in the whole cohort. smsihpromylop)G/C(IlcBdna)G/A(S363N,)A/G(KE32/22REehtnotnednepedelfiorpcilobateM2elbaT G/CIlsBS363NKE32/22RE eulav-P)092=n(GG/GC)632=n(CCeulav-P)15=n(GG/GA)794=n(AAeulav-P)33=n(AA/AG)705=n(GG )ES(naem)ES(naem)ES(naem)ES(naem)ES(naem)ES(naem 01.0)10.0(05.0)10.0(84.053.0)20.0(15.0)10.0(94.009.0)30.0(94.0)10.0(94.0)l/lomm(lositroC 92.0)90.1(60.3)90.1(96.219.0)22.1(08.2)70.1(68.215.0)03.1(53.3)60.1(08.2)l/gm(nietorpevitcaer-C 78.0)20.0(23.1)30.0(13.133.0)50.0(62.1)20.0(13.154.0)70.0(62.1)20.0(13.1)l/lomm(loretselohcLDH 92.0)60.0(36.3)60.0(27.3100.0<)31.0(81.4)40.0(26.329.0)71.0(76.3)40.0(66.3)l/lomm(loretselohcLDL 18.0)30.1(93.1)30.1(04.130.0)60.1(06.1)20.1(93.174.0)80.1(23.1)20.1(04.1)l/lomm(sedirecylgirT 48.0)60.0(08.5)70.0(87.506.0)51.0(27.5)50.0(18.5100.0<)91.0(45.6)50.0(47.5)l/lomm(c1AbH detneserpera)ES(srorredradnatshtiwsnaemcirtemoegsedirecylgirtdnanietorpevitcaer-CroF.ledomraenillarenegetairavinudetsujdaxeS

smsihpromylop)G/C(IlcBdna)G/A(S363N,)A/G(KE32/22REehtnotnednepedelfiorpcilobateM2elbaT G/CIlsBS363NKE32/22RE eulav-P)092=n(GG/GC)632=n(CCeulav-P)15=n(GG/GA)794=n(AAeulav-P)33=n(AA/AG)705=n(GG )ES(naem)ES(naem)ES(naem)ES(naem)ES(naem)ES(naem 01.0)10.0(05.0)10.0(84.053.0)20.0(15.0)10.0(94.009.0)30.0(94.0)10.0(94.0)l/lomm(lositroC 92.0)90.1(60.3)90.1(96.219.0)22.1(08.2)70.1(68.215.0)03.1(53.3)60.1(08.2)l/gm(nietorpevitcaer-C 78.0)20.0(23.1)30.0(13.133.0)50.0(62.1)20.0(13.154.0)70.0(62.1)20.0(13.1)l/lomm(loretselohcLDH 92.0)60.0(36.3)60.0(27.3100.0<)31.0(81.4)40.0(26.329.0)71.0(76.3)40.0(66.3)l/lomm(loretselohcLDL 18.0)30.1(93.1)30.1(04.130.0)60.1(06.1)20.1(93.174.0)80.1(23.1)20.1(04.1)l/lomm(sedirecylgirT 48.0)60.0(08.5)70.0(87.506.0)51.0(27.5)50.0(18.5100.0<)91.0(45.6)50.0(47.5)l/lomm(c1AbH detneserpera)ES(srorredradnatshtiwsnaemcirtemoegsedirecylgirtdnanietorpevitcaer-CroF.ledomraenillarenegetairavinudetsujdaxeS

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the Leiden 85-plus Study

Number 552 Age 85 Female 366 (66%) Independently living 451 (82%) Metabolic profile Cortisol (mmol/l) 0.49 (0.15) C-reactive protein (mg/l) 2.83 (4.26) HDL cholesterol (mmol/l) 1.31 (0.40) LDL cholesterol (mmol/l) 3.67 (0.97) Triglycerides (mmol/l) 1.40 (1.58) HbA1c (mmol/l) 5.79 (1.09) Body composition, BMI (kg/m2) Men 26.3 (5.17) Women 27.7 (4.74) Weight (kg) Men 74.5 (15.2) Women 67.5 (12.7 ) Height (cm) Men 168.1 (6.49) Women 156.2 (6.24) Armspan (cm) Men 178.1 (7.31) Women 162.5 (7.03) Cardiovascular pathologies Myocardial infarction 134 (24%) Myocardial ischemia 280 (51%) Intermittent claudication 34 (6%) Stroke 56 (10%)

Metabolic profile and body composition values presented as means (SD), except for C-reactive protein where geometric mean (SD) is presented

During the 4.2-year follow-up, 278 (50%) of the participants had died, of which 115 (41%) of deaths were due to cardiovascular disease. The Kaplan– Meier estimates of cumulative mortality indicated that the carriers of BclI polymorphism have lower allcause mortality during the follow-up compared to the non-carriers (Fig. 1). The allcause mortality risk estimate for the BclI variant was 0.85 (0.67–1.08). The cardiovascular mortality analyses revealed no differences in survival for any of the ER22/23EK, N363S and BclI polymorphism carriers (Fig. 1). The results remained unaltered after repeating the analy- ses for men and women separately.

All the above mentioned analyses were also repeated with independently living participants (n=451), in order to implement the selection criteria used in other studies (van Rossum et al. 2003, 2004a). These analyses did not reveal additional associations, but confirmed those observed in the whole cohort.

Table 3 Body composition dependent on the ER22/23EK (G/A), N363S (A/G) and BclI (C/G) polymorphisms