About the Authors

Suzanne M. Lloyd

Affiliation Robertson Centre for Biostatistics, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

David J. Stott

Affiliation Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Anton J. M. de Craen

Affiliation Department of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

Patricia M. Kearney

Affiliation Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College, Cork, Ireland

Naveed Sattar

Affiliation Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Ivan Perry

Affiliation Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College, Cork, Ireland

Christopher J. Packard

Affiliation National Health Service Research and Development Directorate, Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Andrew Briggs

Affiliation Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Laura Marchbank

Affiliation Information Services Division Scotland, National Health Service (Scotland), Paisley, United Kingdom

Harry Comber

Affiliation National Cancer Registry, Cork, Ireland

J. Wouter Jukema

Affiliation Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

Rudi G. J. Westendorp

Affiliation Department of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

Stella Trompet

Affiliations Department of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands, Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

Brendan M. Buckley

Affiliation Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University College, Cork, Ireland

Ian Ford

ian.ford@glasgow.ac.uk

Affiliation Robertson Centre for Biostatistics, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Competing Interests

The authors have read the journal's policy and have the following conflicts: DS has received funding/support from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Astra Zeneca, Merck Serono and Fresenius, honoraria/consultancy from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Astra Zeneca and Nutricia and support for conference attendance from Bristol Myers-Squibb and Nutricia. JJ has received grants from and was a speaker on (CME accredited) meetings sponsored by Astellas, Astra Zeneca, Bayer, Biotronik, Boston Scientific, Daiichi Sankyo, Lilly, Genzyme, Merck-Shering-Plough, Pfizer, Orbus Neich, Novartis, Roche, Servier, Sanofi Aventis, the Netherlands Heart Foundation, the Interuniversity Cardiology Institute of the Netherlands, and the European Community Framework KP7 Programme. IF has received research funding from Pfizer. All other authors do not report any conflicts of interest. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: DJS NS CJP AB JWJ RGJW BMB IF. Performed the experiments: DJS AJMdC PMK NS IP LM HC JWJ RGJW ST BMB. Analyzed the data: SML IF. Wrote the paper: SML DJS AJMdC PMK NS IP CJP AB LM HC JWJ RGJW ST BMB IF.