Long-term Follow-up of the Helsinki Businessmen Study (HBS)

The Helsinki Businessmen Study (HBS) was originally a convenient cohort of male executives and businessmen (born 1919-1934, n=3490), who participated in health check-ups between 1964-1973, but since the beginning of 1970s it has developed into a clinico-epidemiological longitudinal study. Primary focus was on the prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), but since 2000 focus has been shifting to geriatrics, and with its long follow-up (up to 50 years) HBS can be seen as a "life-course" study. Traditional CVD risk factors are available from the 1960s and in 1974 participants (available n=3310) were divided in groups according to their clinical status and CVD risk. Two high-risk groups (n=1222) and low-risk group (n=593) participated in a 5-year multifactorial primary prevention study in 1974-1980 (in-trial and post-trial results have been published in 1985 and 1991). The whole original cohort has been followed-up from national registers since 1985 and with regular questionnaire surveys since 2000. Random subcohorts have been studied clinically with laboratory and genetic examinations in 2003 and 2011. The latest questionnaire survey was performed in winter 2015 by which two thirds of the original cohort had died. Follow-up of the cohort is ongoing and new research questions formulated..