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Aims: The Danish Health Examination Survey (DANHES 2007—2008) was carried out by the National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, in 13 Danish municipalities in 2007—2008. The focus of the survey was diet, smoking, alcohol, and physical activity. The aim of the survey was to establish a research database for future cross-sectional and follow-up studies. Methods: DANHES 2007—2008 included internet-based questionnaires and a health examination. There were two different questionnaires: a basic questionnaire on socio-demography, health behaviour, self-reported health status, and living conditions, and a supplementary food frequency questionnaire. The health examination contained measurements of blood pressure, resting heart rate, height, weight, fat percentage, waist and hip circumference, blood and hair samples, spirometry, bone mineral density, physical performance, muscle strength, and aerobic fitness. Results: A total of 76,484 people completed the basic questionnaire, and 18,065 adult individuals participated in the health examination, corresponding to a response rate of 14% and a participation rate of 10%, respectively. Conclusions: The database from DANHES 2007—2008 is unique in its size and diversity of measurements and questionnaire contents. Data can be linked to various registers through the Danish civil registration system, and blood samples are stored in a biobank allowing for genetic analyses. Hence, DANHES 2007—2008 forms the basis for future research projects with a focus on health behaviour and prevention of lifestyle-related diseases. AIMS: The Danish Health Examination Survey (DANHES 2007-2008) was carried out by the National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, in 13 Danish municipalities in 2007-2008. The focus of the survey was diet, smoking, alcohol, and physical activity. The aim of the survey was to establish a research database for future cross-sectional and follow-up studies. METHODS: DANHES 2007-2008 included internet-based questionnaires and a health examination. There were two different questionnaires: a basic questionnaire on socio-demography, health behaviour, self-reported health status, and living conditions, and a supplementary food frequency questionnaire. The health examination contained measurements of blood pressure, resting heart rate, height, weight, fat percentage, waist and hip circumference, blood and hair samples, spirometry, bone mineral density, physical performance, muscle strength, and aerobic fitness. RESULTS: A total of 76,484 people completed the basic questionnaire, and 18,065 adult individuals participated in the health examination, corresponding to a response rate of 14% and a participation rate of 10%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The database from DANHES 2007-2008 is unique in its size and diversity of measurements and questionnaire contents. Data can be linked to various registers through the Danish civil registration system, and blood samples are stored in a biobank allowing for genetic analyses. Hence, DANHES 2007-2008 forms the basis for future research projects with a focus on health behaviour and prevention of lifestyle-related diseases.

Aims This article, as part of a Nordic project, aims at studying the development of alcohol-related harms in the Danish society in the 1990s and early 2000s, a period when alcohol consumption was stable at a relatively high Nordic level. Data The study is based on data on sales of alcohol and on register data on alcohol-related morbidity, mortality, traffic accidents and the development of violent crimes. Analysis Both total alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm have been practically unchanged during the period, in spite of large changes in consumption of the different types of alcohol. Pancreatitis mortality and hospitalisations of men due to alcoholism, alcohol psychosis and poisoning have increased, while alcohol-related traffic accidents and detentions due to drunkenness have decreased. These developments may mirror changes in the activities and structure of various authorities. Conclusions To properly estimate the effects of changes in drinking patterns on alcohol-related harms new measures of alcohol-related harms are needed that take into account the attributable etiological fraction of alcohol to for instance coronary heart disease. There is also a need for better measures of social consequences of drinking.