Table 2.

Overview of included screening initiatives, performed in a mixed population: screening methods, patient approach, and response rate

	Study name	Country	Age, years	Screening method	Approach	No. eligible	Response rate
Cope et al, 1967⁴	NA	England	>15	All people responding to posters, talks, and other advertising literature that was distributed throughout the practice were screened	Opportunistic	1711^a	39%
Scott et al, 1968⁷	NA	England	≥15	All eligible females in one practice were invited for an examination	Actively invited	1800 females	43%
Pike, 1969⁵	NA	England	>68	All eligible patients were sent a letter to invite them for a series of tests	Actively invited	671	43%
Pike, 1972⁶	NA	England	45–55	Eligible males were sent a letter inviting them to attend a morning for examinations and interviews	Actively invited	309 males	45%
Brown, 1978⁸	NA	England	37–43	All eligible males were sent a letter inviting them to attend for a screening test in the morning	Actively invited	120 males	64%
Anggard et al, 1986¹⁶	NA	England	20–59	Patients could attend screening at their own request or were invited during a regular consultation	Opportunistic	40 000^a	Unknown
Jones et al, 1988²³	NA	England, Wales	25–55	All patients were invited for screening and those with any of the risk factors were referred for treatment	Actively invited	3800	62%
Mann et al, 1988²⁵	NA	England	25–59	Two approaches in different centres: 1. All eligible patients invited; 2. Patients visiting clinic offered a health check consultation	Invited/opportunistic	12 092^a	73%
Bennett et al, 1989¹⁷	South Birmingham Coronary Prevention Project	England	35–65	People attending the GPs surgery were invited to participate, alternatively invitations were sent by post	Invited/opportunistic	2261^a	Unknown
Björkelund et al, 1991¹⁸	NA	Sweden	45–64	Eligible women were invited for a free health survey	Actively invited	1084	86%
OXCHECK Study Group, 1991¹⁴	OXCHECK	England	35–64	Eligible people were invited for a health check and randomised for participation in the first, second, third, or fourth study year	Actively invited	11 090 responded to initial questionnaire; 2674 were randomised for participation in the first year	73% responded to questionnaire, 82% of those invited for first-year screening accepted
Hellénius et al, 1993²²	NA	Sweden	15–60	All eligible people visiting the health centre were offered the opportunity to fill in a short questionnaire. Those with ≥ 1 risk factor (known hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, DM, smoking, overweight, physical inactivity, family history of early CVD or symptoms of angina pectoris or intermittent claudication) were offered a free check-up	Opportunistic, stepwise	1904 filled in risk questionnaire, 94% were eligible for the second step^b	6%
Family Heart Study Group, 1994¹⁵	British Family Heart Study	England, Wales, Scotland	40–59	Eligible patients were identified by household through the male partner; families were screened	Actively invited	4158 males and their families were invited	57% of the families were represented by one or more member
Persson et al, 1994³²		Sweden	33–42	All eligible males received a postal invitation to a health examination	Actively invited	757	86%
Gran et al,1995²¹	NA	Sweden	30–59	All people living in one primary healthcare centre’s catchment area were invited to participate in a population-based screening programme	Actively invited	3884	68%
Lauritzen et al, 1995²⁴	Ebeltoft project	Denmark	30–50	Random sample of all inhabitants of Ebeltoft who were registered with one of the study practices received an invitation. Those willing to participate received a questionnaire and were randomised in three groups: one control group and two intervention groups (health check and written feedback with or without consultation of GP)	Actively invited	2000 were invited; 1370 were willing to participate (control: 465; intervention: 449 and 456)	69%
van den Berg et al, 1999²⁶	NA	Netherlands	≥60	All persons registered with one general practice received a letter from their GP offering a cardiovascular health check	Actively invited	1002	80%
Weinehall et al, 1999²⁷	Västerbotten Intervention Programme	Sweden	30–60	All people aged 30, 40, 50, and 60 years of age were invited annually to a health provider survey focusing on the traditional risk factors for CVD	Actively invited	2046^b	93%
Devroey et al, 2004²⁰	NA	Belgium	45–64	All inhabitants of three Belgian towns were invited. An information campaign in the local press had been set up to augment the recruitment	Actively invited	12 756	7%
Bunescu et al, 2008¹⁹	NA	Romania	25–65	Eligible patients were invited for assessment of CVD risk	Actively invited	1012	79%
Tiessen et al, 2012²⁸	NA	Netherlands	>50	Males >50 and females >55 years, without registered DM and not under second-line follow-up by a cardiologist or internist, were invited for assessment of CVD risk by their GP	Actively invited	521	82% responded; 68% participated

CVD = cardiovascular disease. DM = diabetes mellitus. NA = not applicable.
↵a In case of an opportunistic approach: the number of eligible people refers to the number of people who attended screening.
↵b This is the total number of people invited over 8 consecutive screening years.