Seventy‐year‐old People in Gothenburg a Population Study in an Industrialized Swedish City

ABSTRACT The prospective longitudinal population study of elderly individuals in Gothenburg started in 1971/72 with an investigation of a representative sample (about 3/10) of the 70‐year‐olds. This wide population study concerns the nature and manifestations of normal ageing processes, the incidence and prevalence of disease at higher ages and the occurrence and the nature of infirmity in old age. This paper is a general description of some of the social and medical observations obtained during the first study of the probands and concerns migration in the population, housing, dwelling conditions, mobility and transportations, social contacts, need of help, results of the general, othological, ophthalmological, psychiatric, psychological and odontological examinations as well as of certain laboratory analyses. The results showed that “underdiagnosis” was common in this age group, i.e. that previously unknown disease often was present. The results also indicate that “overdiagnosis” is rather common due to the fact that the border zone between normal ageing and disease is only a very vague presentiment in the higher age groups. More advanced handicaps were rather uncommon and only about 3 per cent of the 70‐year‐olds suffered from handicaps or diseases to such an extent that care within institutions was necessary. The 70‐year‐olds rather commonly are living under social conditions that from a medical point of view might be subjected to critizism. It should, however, also be emphasized that a majority of the 70‐year‐olds in Gothenburg were living a very comfortable life in rather good physical and mental condition.