Functional Capacity in 70- to 89-year-old Men in Finland, Italy, and the Netherlands

Functional and mental capacities were studied in the 30-year follow- up survey of the Finnish, Italian, and Dutch cohorts of the Seven Countries Study. The aim was to find lifestyle-related factors in middle age which predict functional capacity in old age. This analysis focuses on the variation between cohorts in different cultural settings and with different histories of coronary heart disease and risk factors. In 1989–1991, 1411 men performed the standard examination and tests on activities of daily living (ADL); mental, psychic and physical functioning; and self-perceived health.