TABLE 1—
General Characteristics and Prevalence Rates of Diseases and Activity Limitations of the Selected Surveys: The Netherlands, 1990–2008
| Study Characteristics and Measures | AVO | POLS | LASA | MAAS | DCS |
| Commissioning organization | Netherlands Institute for Social Research | Statistics Netherlands | VU University Amsterdam | Maastricht University | National Institute for Public Health and the Environment |
| Geographical representation | National | National | Multiregional | Provincial | Municipal |
| Type of survey | Repeated cross-sectional | Repeated cross-sectional | Longitudinal | Longitudinal | Longitudinal |
| Frequency of measurement, y | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Duration of 1 cycle of measurement, y | 1 | 1 | 2a | 3 | 5 |
| Study period | 1991–2007 | 1990–2008 | 1995–2006a | 1993–2007 | 1995–2007b |
| Interview vs questionnaire | Interview and questionnaire | Interview and questionnaire | Interview and questionnaire | Questionnaire | Questionnaire |
| Use of proxies | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| Baseline age range, y | ≥ 6 | ≥ 0 | 55–84 | 24–81 | 20–59 |
| Baseline age range of respondents selected for the current study, y | 55–84 | 55–84 | 55–84 | 55–81 | 55–59 |
| Response range, % of households | 43–70 | 60–65 | 62–82 | 54–75 | 62–80 |
| Selected respondents,c no. | 3411 | 2190 | 1638 | 934 | 2037 |
| Diseases, %d | |||||
| Diabetes | 8.8 | 8.3 | 9.1 | 7.4 | 4.8 |
| Heart disease | 9.6 | 9.2 | 23.8 | 16.2 | 4.2 |
| Peripheral arterial disease | 8.0 | 5.3 | 10.1 | 6.2 | 24.1 |
| Stroke | 3.3 | 3.4 | 5.8 | NA | 2.5 |
| Lung disease | 10.5 | 9.8 | 13.8 | 11.3 | 3.6 |
| Joint disease | 25.0 | 26.5 | 47.6 | 17.4 | NA |
| Back problems | 15.6 | 13.6 | NA | NA | 59.4 |
| Cancer | 3.2 | 6.6 | 13.4 | 7.7 | 7.1 |
| Morbidity summary, % | |||||
| Exactly 1 disease | 24.1 | 29.4 | 37.3 | 27.3 | 43.3 |
| ≥ 2 diseases | 20.7 | 23.9 | 34.3 | 14.8 | 27.8 |
| Activity limitations, %b | |||||
| At least moderate OECD | 24.0 | 32.2 | 40.3 | NA | NA |
| Severe OECD | 4.8 | 7.8 | 13.8 | NA | NA |
| At least moderate SF-36 | NA | NA | NA | 52.1 | 38.0 |
| Severe SF-36 | NA | NA | NA | 16.8 | 9.4 |
Note. AVO = Amenities and Services Utilization Survey; DCS = Doetinchem Cohort Study; LASA = Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam; MAAS = Maastricht Aging Study; NA = not available; OECD = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development long-term disability questionnaire; POLS = Permanent Life Situation Survey; SF-36 = 36-item Short Form Health Survey.
Except for the period 2001–2003, when the old cohort was interviewed in 2001–2002 and a new cohort was interviewed in 2002–2003. In 2005–2006 both cohorts were interviewed at the same time.
Waves in 1993 and 1994 did not include 36-item Short Form Health Survey data and were excluded from the analyses.
Averaged over all years of measurement.
Crude prevalences; mean over all years of measurement.