DOI: 10.3886/icpsr09915.v1
title: Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly, 1981-1993: [East Boston, Massachusetts, Iowa and Washington Counties, Iowa, New Haven, Connecticut, and North Central North Carolina]
title: Version 1

description: The goals of the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) project were to describe and identify predictors of mortality, hospitalization, and placement in long-term care facilities and to investigate risk factors for chronic diseases and loss of functioning. The survey elicited information from persons 65 years of age and older in four geographic locations: East Boston, Massachusetts, New Haven, Connecticut, Iowa and Washington Counties, Iowa, and five counties in north central North Carolina. The public use baseline data (Part 1) cover demographic characteristics (age, sex, race, income, education, marital status, number of children, employment, and religion), height, weight, social and physical functioning, chronic conditions, related health problems, health habits, self-reported use of dental, hospital, and nursing home services, and depression. Data from six follow-up surveys conducted in all four of the sites are also provided (Parts 2-4 and 6-8), along with information from death certificates for deaths occurring in the first six years of follow-up for all four sites (Part 5).
description: Datasets: 
 
 DS0: Study-Level Files 
 DS1: Baseline Data 
 DS2: First Follow-Up Data 
 DS3: Second Follow-Up Data 
 DS4: Third Follow-Up Data 
 DS5: Deaths Data 
 DS6: Fourth Follow-Up Data 
 DS7: Fifth Follow-Up Data 
 DS8: Sixth Follow-Up Data 
 DS9: Resource Data Book and Questionnaires
description: (1) Additional documentation, the EPESE RESOURCE DATA BOOK, Volumes I and II, is available only in hardcopy form upon request from ICPSR. (2) The baseline age distribution is: East Boston: 65-69 (N = 1,277), 70-74 (N = 1,081), 75-79 (N = 697), 80-84 (N = 413), and 85+ (N = 341). Iowa: 65-69 (N = 986), 70-74 (N = 988), 75-79 (N = 815), 80-84 (N = 523), and 85+ (N = 361). New Haven (non-Blacks): 65-69 (N = 611), 70-74 (N = 590), 75-79 (N = 491), 80-84 (N = 335), and 85+ (N = 256). New Haven (Blacks): 65-74 (N = 351), and 75+ (N = 178). North Carolina: 65-69 (N = 1,420), 70-74 (N = 1,121), 75-79 (N = 794), 80-84 (N = 505), and 85+ (N = 322). Totals for each area are: East Boston (N = 3,809), Iowa (N = 3,673), New Haven (N = 2,811), and North Carolina (N = 4,165). (3) The codebook and data collection instruments are provided as Portable Document Format (PDF) files. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided through the ICPSR Website on the Internet.
description: All noninstitutionalized persons 65 years of age and older in East Boston, Massachusetts, New Haven, Connecticut, Iowa and Washington Counties, Iowa, and five counties in north central North Carolina.
description: In East Boston, individuals eligible for the study were identified through a total community census performed concurrently with the baseline interview in 1982. In Iowa, interviews were attempted with all eligible persons enumerated using a list from the area's Agency on Aging, supplemented by additional listings from local informants. New Haven used a stratified random sample of clusters of households. The sample was stratified for three different types of residence: public housing for the elderly, private housing for the elderly, and elsewhere in the community. Males were oversampled to attempt to achieve balance in the sex distribution of the sample. In North Carolina area sampling was used at the first stage of the design to obtain a sample of 1980 census blocks, block clusters, and enumeration districts. The sample was designed so that it would consist of at least 50 percent Black older persons.