Although the incidence of dementia increases exponentially with age, some individuals reach more than 100 years with fully retained cognitive abilities. To identify the characteristics associated with the escape or delay of cognitive decline, we initiated the 100-plus Study (www.100plus.nl). The 100-plus Study is an on-going prospective cohort study of Dutch centenarians who self-reported to be cognitively healthy, their first-degree family members and their respective partners. We collect demographics, life history, medical history, genealogy, neuropsychological data and blood samples. Centenarians are followed annually until death. PET–MRI scans and feces donation are optional. Almost 30% of the centenarians agreed to post-mortem brain donation. To date (September 2018), 332 centenarians were included in the study. We analyzed demographic statistics of the first 300 centenarians (25% males) included in the cohort. Centenarians came from higher socio-economic classes and had higher levels of education compared to their birth cohort; alcohol consumption of centenarians was similar, and most males smoked during their lifetime. At baseline, the centenarians had a median MMSE score of 25 points (IQR 22.0–27.5); most centenarians lived independently, retained hearing and vision abilities and were independently mobile. Mortality was associated with cognitive functioning: centenarians with a baseline MMSE score ≥ 26 points had a mortality percentage of 17% per annual year  in the second year after baseline, while centenarians with a baseline MMSE score < 26 points had a mortality of  42% per annual year (p = 0.003). The cohort was 2.1-fold enriched with the neuroprotective APOE-ε2 allele relative to 60–80 year-old population controls (p = 4.8 × 10−7), APOE-ε3 was unchanged and the APOE-ε4 allele was 2.3-fold depleted (p = 6.3 × 10−7). Comprehensive characterization of the 100-plus cohort of cognitively healthy centenarians might reveal protective factors that explain the physiology of long-term preserved cognitive health.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10654-018-0451-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: Childhood obesity is a major health problem. An association between children's body mass index (BMI) and overeating has been established, but mechanisms leading to overeating are poorly understood. The personality characteristics impulsivity and reward responsiveness may be involved in the tendency to overeat. Impulsivity might relate to overeating through poor inhibition of food intake; reward responsiveness through the rewarding value of food. Objective: This study aimed to reveal the relationships between impulsivity, reward responsiveness, overeating and BMI in a sample of 346 Dutch children aged 6-13 years. The BMI distribution in the sample was representative of the BMI distribution in the Dutch pediatric population. Methods: Impulsivity and reward responsiveness were measured with the Dutch version of the parent-report Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire for children. Overeating was assessed with the Dutch translation of the parent-report Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. Results: Overeating, impulsivity and reward responsiveness were significantly associated with childhood BMI. Mediation analysis revealed that impulsivity and reward responsiveness equally and significantly predicted BMI indirectly through overeating. Conclusions: The personality characteristics impulsivity and reward responsiveness predict childhood BMI indirectly through overeating. This suggests that these personality characteristics are risk factors for obesity.