About the Authors

Eric J. G. Sijbrands

e.sijbrands@erasmusmc.nl

Affiliation Division of Pharmacology, Vascular and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Erik Tornij

Affiliations Actuarial Department, Nationale-Nederlanden – ING Group, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Medical Department, Nationale-Nederlanden – ING Group, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Sietske J. Homsma

Affiliations Actuarial Department, Nationale-Nederlanden – ING Group, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Medical Department, Nationale-Nederlanden – ING Group, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Competing Interests

Tornij and Homsma are employes of the company that funded the study (Nationale-Nederlanden - ING Group).

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: EJGS. Analyzed the data: EJGS ET SJH. Wrote the paper: EJGS ET SJH. Designed the study and supervised the work: EJGS. Manager of the large database: ET. Supervised the recruitment of persons: SJH.