Participation of the male population in primary medical examination in Kaunas and Minsk. Data from the co-operative study of the effectiveness of multifactorial prevention of ischaemic heart disease.

The authors analyse factors complicating the recruitment of men aged 40-59 years for participation in primary medical examination in Kaunas and Minsk. In both cities, invitation for participation was if necessary repeated four times. In Kaunas, 8,590 men were invited and 5,964 (69.4%) of them reported for examination; the respective figures in Minsk were 6,000 and 4,149 (69.2%). The main cause of non-response was substantiated or non-substantiated refusal. It was found that socio-demographic characteristics and the state of health are factors influencing the response to invitation for primary medical examination.