The Three city study: relationship between vascular illness and dementia

The Three city study is a cohort study of subjects aged 65 and over, conducted with the aim of looking into the relationship between vascular illness and dementia. The cohort was conducted in three cities in France: Bordeaux (2,104 subjects), Dijon (4,931 subjects) and Montpellier (2,259 subjects). Data was gathered through socio-demographical questionnaires, a neuropsychological clinical review, systematic detection of dementia cases, a biological review, electrocardiograms and, in a sub-sample, carotid ultrasounds and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The initial data collection phase took place in 1999 and 2000, and then the subjects were reviewed two years and four years later with a systematic detection of dementia cases and cardiovascular incidents.