Abstract
BACKGROUND: Findings from a large-scale population-based prospective cohort would lead us to better understanding of the relationship between lifestyle and health, thus better provision of strategies for disease prevention and health promotion. METHODS: We conducted a baseline survey with two self-administered questionnaires regarding lifestyle and personality on the residents aged 40 to 64 years in 14 municipalities of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, during June through August, 1990. Out of the eligible 51,925 residents, 47,605 (91.7%) responded to the lifestyle questionnaire and formed the cohort under study. We then have been following up the subjects for mortality, migration, and incidence of cancer. RESULTS: During the follow-up from June 1990 through March 2001, 2,536 subjects (5.3%) died and 2,166 subjects (4.5%) emigrated. The distribution of the causes of death among the study subjects was quite consistent with the national average. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort study, both the participation rate and the follow-up rate are satisfactorily high. We expect this Miyagi Cohort Study to provide the society with evidence for health promotion and disease prevention.