The study, which is funded by a research grant from the Irish Health Research Board, will rescreen 2000 men and women aged between 55 and 75 who attended a previous screening in Mitchelstown in 2010/2011.
The research team will examine a range of factors such as changes in diet, obesity, physical activity, blood pressure and blood lipids.
“Over the past 30 years we have had more than a 50 per cent fall in death rates from heart disease and stroke in Ireland, while at the same time there is a steady increase in obesity and diabetes,” says Professor Ivan Perry, Head of the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health UCC.
“We need to get a deeper understanding of the factors driving these trends.
“This is the core objective of the Mitchelstown study. We look forward to sharing these results with the scientific community and the general public”.
The health checks will be carried out in the Living Health Centre, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork.
