Interviews lasting 2–3 hours were conducted in participants’ homes. The visit included a questionnaire in two parts: household and socioeconomic data then individual interview data; followed by anthropometric, physical and cognitive functioning assessments plus blood sample collection in the form of capillary blood sample and “dried blood spots” (DBS). Data were captured on laptop computers using a Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) program.
Data collected included blood pressure (Omron M6W automated cuff; Omron, Kyoto, Japan), weight (Genesis Growth Management Electronic Scale; Johannesburg, South Africa); height using a sensor with infrared measurement; waist and hip circumferences with a flexible tape measure (SECA, Hamburg, Germany). Blood drops were used to measure glucose (Caresense© N Monitor, Seoul, Korea) and individual lipid levels (Cardiocheck© PA Silver version; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA) in point-of-care machines. The DBSs were collected via finger prick on Whatman 903 ™ paper (Whatman, Buckinghamshire, UK) and used to measure HIV-status and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). Three blood pressure readings (systolic and diastolic) were obtained with two minutes between each reading and the mean blood pressure was calculated using the average between the second and third reading14 .
Data collected included blood pressure (Omron M6W automated cuff; Omron, Kyoto, Japan), weight (Genesis Growth Management Electronic Scale; Johannesburg, South Africa); height using a sensor with infrared measurement; waist and hip circumferences with a flexible tape measure (SECA, Hamburg, Germany). Blood drops were used to measure glucose (Caresense© N Monitor, Seoul, Korea) and individual lipid levels (Cardiocheck© PA Silver version; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA) in point-of-care machines. The DBSs were collected via finger prick on Whatman 903 ™ paper (Whatman, Buckinghamshire, UK) and used to measure HIV-status and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). Three blood pressure readings (systolic and diastolic) were obtained with two minutes between each reading and the mean blood pressure was calculated using the average between the second and third reading14 .