Table 1 Characteristics of women who had had no fall or at least one fall in the previous 12 months. Values are percentage of women (95% confidence interval), adjusted for age, except where otherwise indicated

No falls (n=3364)
At least one fall (n=686)
P value

Mean age (years)
68.6 (68.4 to 68.9)
70.1 (69.7 to 70.5)
<0.001

Chronic diseases

Coronary heart disease
14.0 (12.9 to 15.2)
23.3 (20.3 to 26.6)
<0.001

Any circulatory disease
16.8 (15.5 to 18.1)
26.7 (23.5 to 30.1)
<0.001

Diabetes
4.9 (4.3 to 5.7)
6.9 (5.2 to 9.0)
0.04

Thyroid disease
11.4 (10.3 to 12.5)
14.2 (11.8 to 17.3)
0.04

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
22.6 (21.2 to 24.0)
30.8 (27.4 to 34.3)
<0.001

Depression
15.8 (14.5 to 17.1)
27.0 (23.6 to 30.6)
<0.001

Eye disease
13.9 (12.8 to 15.1)
19.9 (17.0 to 23.0)
<0.001

Arthritis
41.7 (40.0 to 43.3)
58.2 (54.5 to 61.9)
<0.001

Postural hypotension^*
17.1 (15.8 to 18.5)
17.6 (14.8 to 20.9)
0.75

Low standing blood pressure
7.6 (6.7 to 8.6)
7.3 (5.5 to 9.7)
0.81

Drugs taken

Hypnotics and anxiolytics
4.3 (3.7 to 5.1)
8.6 (6.7 to 10.9)
<0.001

Antidepressants
9.0 (8.1 to 10.0)
17.1 (14.4 to 20.1)
<0.001

Any central nervous system drug
23.5 (22.1 to 25.0)
36.9 (33.3 to 40.6)
<0.001

Any analgesic
12.6 (11.6 to 13.8)
18.1 (15.4 to 21.1)
<0.001

Any cardiovascular disease drug
40.9 (39.3 to 42.6)
50.4 (46.7 to 54.2)
<0.001

Any endocrine system drug
19.9 (18.5 to 21.2)
21.4 (18.5 to 24.7)
0.25

Any respiratory system drug
10.2 (9.2 to 11.2)
13.1 (10.8 to 15.9)
0.03

Socioeconomic position

Manual social class (III manual, IV, or V)
52.0 (50.2 to 53.7)
55.3 (51.4 to 59.1)
0.12

From deprived area
19.3 (18.0 to 20.6)
20.1 (17.3 to 23.3)
0.61

Physiological and behavioural characteristics

Consume alcohol daily
17.5 (16.1 to 18.8)
17.5 (14.8 to 20.5)
0.80

Heavy drinking ( $>=$ 14 units alcohol a week)
5.5 (4.8 to 6.3)
6.0 (4.4 to 8.0)
0.39

Mean body mass index (kg/m²)
27.4 (27.2 to 27.6)
28.4 (28.0 to 28.8)
<0.001

Mean HDL cholesterol concentration (mmol/l)
1.66 (1.65 to 1.68)
1.64 (1.60 to 1.67)
0.22

Triglyceride concentration (geometric mean) (mmol/l)
1.66 (1.63 to 1.68)
1.68 (1.62 to 1.74)
0.41

Hypertension
50.6 (48.7 to 52.4)
51.6 (47.5 to 55.6)
0.39

Mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (l)
1.99 (1.97 to 2.00)
1.94 (1.90 to 1.99)
0.02

Mean haemoglobin concentration (g/l)
135.4 (135.0 to 135.8)
133.9 (133.1 to 134.8)
0.002

Hip or wrist fracture in previous 12 months
0.2 (0.1 to 0.4)
6.8 (5.1 to 8.9)
<0.001