Epidemiological investigation into the health of people between 65 and 75 years in the Dutch municipality of Eindhoven in support of the municipal policy towards the elderly. The questionnaire was made up of a combination of existing measuring instruments: BIOPRO (Diekstra/Hosman-1983)/ Loneliness scale (De Jong-Gierveld/Kamphuis-1983)/ Muenchener Alcohol Test (Feurelein/Walberg/Van Limbeek- 1985/ Neuroses and social environment scale (Henderson-1984)/ Symptom checklist (Derogatis/Arrindell/Ettema-1981)/ Scale for subjective well-being of elderly (Tempelman/Tellegen-1984)/ Social desirability scale (Crowne/Marlow) / health / insurance / general practitioner / illness / symptoms / medical complaints / hospital / fear / depression / irritation / nervousness / medicine / drugs / use of alcohol / problems / coping behaviour / life events / knowledge of institutions for medical, mental, social help / self support ability / social contacts. Background variables: basic characteristics/ place of birth/ housing situation/ household characteristics/ occupation/employment/ income/capital assets/ education/ religion