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Objective:To describe health and lifestyle factors of participants in the ZENITH study.Design:A prospective multicentre intervention study employing a randomised double-blind design.Participants:Community dwelling older adults (n=387), aged 55–87 y were recruited from regions in France, Italy and the UK.Intervention:A self-report questionnaire comprising socio-demographic variables, dietary habits, physical activity in the home, at work and recreation.Results:Participants differed with regards dietary habits and physical activity for each region. Recreational activity was higher in France and women generally tend to perform less hours of recreational activity per week than men.Conclusions:The differences found for these regions of Europe in relation to lifestyle factors will affect health and well-being within these countries and may mediate the impact of zinc supplementation on various biological and psychological parameters.Sponsorship:The ZENITH study is supported by the European Commission ‘Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources’ Fifth Framework Programme, Contract No: QLK1-CT-2001-00168.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) 59, Suppl 2, S13–S21. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602292 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:Baseline data are reported from a study of the effects of zinc supplementation on cognitive function in older adults as assessed by the CANTAB computerised test battery.Design:This is a multicentre prospective intervention study employing a randomised double-blind design.Setting:European community-based study.Participants:There are 387 healthy adults aged 55–87 y from centres in France, Italy and Northern Ireland.Interventions:Measures of visual memory, working memory and attention were obtained at baseline (prior to supplementation).Results:Younger adults (<70 y) performed significantly better than older adults (>70 y) on all tests, with minimal differences between centres. In addition, men outperformed women on tests of spatial span, pattern recognition memory and reaction times, although these gender differences varied somewhat between centres.Conclusions:The results are generally consistent with previous age- and gender-related effects on cognitive functioning.Sponsorship:The ZENITH study is supported by the European Commission ‘Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources’ Fifth Framework Programme, Contract No. QLK1-CT-2001-00168.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) 59, Suppl 2, S26–S30. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602294 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]