Table 1

Questions on lifestyle and health status

Physical activity
Which level of physical activity have you had during the last year?
     • Easy exercise:none, less than 1 hour/week, 1–2 hours/week, 3 hours or more/week
     • Hard exercise:none, less than 1 hour/week, 1–2 hour/week, 3 hours or more/week

Use of alcohol
     • Are you totally abstinent from alcohol? Yes/no
     • How many times a month do you usually drink alcohol? Number of times:
     • How many glasses of beer, wine or spirits do you usually drink during a two-week period? Number of glasses:

Smoking
     • Do you smoke cigarettes daily? Yes/no
     • If you used to be a daily smoker, since when did you quit? Number of years:
     • If you are or were a daily smoker, how many cigarettes do or did you usually smoke during a day? Number of cigarettes:
     • For how many years have you been a daily smoker? Number of years:

General health
• How is your present general state of health? Bad/not quite good/good/very good*

Depressed mood
Have you felt down/depressed during the last two weeks? Yes/a little/
considerably/very much**


* Less than good general health: bad or not so good

** Depressed mood: yes or a little

Brekke et al. BMC Geriatrics 2006 6:16   doi:10.1186/1471-2318-6-16