The seventh decade of life is in many respects an important transitional period for today's urban male in the United States. During this period a large proportion of men, most of whom are actively employed, face the prospect of job separation and withdrawal from the labor force. Such withdrawal in most instances results in changed economic circumstances and consequently in changes in level of living and in style of life. Health status, variously defined, is probably a continuous variable and the probability of developing a chronic illness or of dying continues to increase during this period of life. Family situations may undergo change with changing economic circumstances, with severe health changes, and, of course, with widowhood. A comprehensive prospective study is being conducted of the relationships between health and a range of demographic, socioeconomic, and family characteristics among a group of urban males who are approaching old age. The long-range purpose of the study is to investigate the changes which occur in health characteristics in the seventh decade of life, to interpret their functional significance, and to examine the interrelationship between these changes and socio-economic and demographic variables.l Bench-mark information concerning reported chronic conditions and disabling confinement and their association with certain socio-economic characteristics of the study population is reported here.