We examined the following outcomes: all-cause mortality and a composite CVD event consisting of a first event of either CVD mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, revascularisation or amputation within the study period. CVD mortality included death due to acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia, stroke or death related to a cardiovascular procedure. Revascularisation included invasive coronary as well as peripheral revascularisation procedures. This clinical information was collected from death certificates, post-mortem reports, medical records, hospital discharge summaries, electrocardiographs, laboratory results, etc. and sent to two members of the expert committee for independent adjudication according to an agreed protocol. Outcomes were recorded on standard case report forms. Committee members met to reach consensus over discrepancies. After the first CVD event, the participant was censored. Inclusion date was the date the blood sample was drawn for the 5-year follow-up of the original study. For each participant, we calculated the time to all-cause mortality or the composite CVD event as appropriate, using the inclusion date until the event or the date the study ended (31 December 2014). All participants gave their informed consent. The study was performed in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration and was approved by The Central Denmark Region Committees on Health Research Ethics. Besides event information, baseline characteristics included age, sex, BMI, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as baseline biochemical variables including haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), creatinine, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides. Furthermore, self-reported data included information on medication, alcohol and smoking habits, as well as information on known or former diseases, including former myocardial infarction or stroke, a diagnosis of angina or arrhythmia and former coronary intervention or surgery. We created a CVD comorbidity variable that combined the self-reported information relevant to CVD (former myocardial infarction, stroke or coronary intervention/surgery or a diagnosis of angina). A positive score in the CVD comorbidity variable indicated that the participant had experienced at least one of the above.