Table 2 Baseline demographics of participants referred to the Staying Steady 27-week falls prevention programme

Age (years)

1417

80.0 (73.0, 85.0)

448

80.0 (74.0, 84.0)

969

80.0 (72.0, 86.0)

0.879

0.810

Female

1000

70.1%

327

72.5%

673

69.0%

0.182

0.283

Body mass index (kg/m²)

526

26.8 (23.8, 31.2)

179

27.2 (23.8, 32.1)

347

26.6 (23.7, 30.9)

0.653

0.481

Index of Multiple Deprivation (decile)

1370

5.0 (2.0, 8.0)

437

6.0 (3.0, 9.0)

933

4.0 (2.0, 8.0)

 < 0.001**

 < 0.001**

Distance from programme venue (km)

1308

1.87 (1.14, 2.68)

436

1.81 (1.12, 2.81)

873

1.89 (1.17, 2.65)

0.731

0.435

Ethnicity

851

White (any White background)

809

95.1%

264

96.0%

545

94.6%

0.820

0.767

Mixed British

12

1.4%

3

1.1%

9

1.6%

Other mixed background

6

0.7%

2

0.7%

4

0.7%

Asian / Asian British

24

2.8%

6

2.2%

18

3.1%

Disability

 Registered as disabled

304

29.0%

112

25.6%

192

31.5%

0.038*

0.140

 Self-identify as disabled

477

46.0%

198

45.1%

279

46.7%

0.603

0.840

 Mobility-related disability

411

39.2%

165

37.6%

246

40.3%

0.369

0.555

 Hearing-related disability

142

13.5%

63

14.4%

79

12.9%

0.507

0.504

 Sight-related disability

86

8.2%

36

8.2%

50

8.2%

0.990

0.818

 Learning-related disability

15

1.4%

6

1.4%

9

1.5%

0.884

0.788

 Other disability

49

4.7%

22

5.0%

27

4.4%

0.652

0.596

Medical history

1264

 Cardiac disease

430

34.5%

128

31.8%

302

35.8%

0.171

0.256

 Heart failure

55

4.4%

15

3.3%

40

4.7%

0.418

0.307

 Coronary heart disease

243

17.0%

78

19.4%

165

19.5%

0.951

0.948

 At risk for coronary heart disease

532

42.7%

175

43.5%

357

42.3%

0.681

0.912

 Stroke / transient ischemic attack

251

20.1%

68

16.9%

183

21.7%

0.050

0.070

 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

108

8.7%

18

4.5%

90

10.7%

 < 0.001**

 < 0.001**

 Osteopenia / osteoporosis

240

16.8%

75

18.7%

165

19.5%

0.709

0.847

 Chronic kidney disease

374

26.2%

119

29.6%

255

30.2%

0.826

0.949

Medication

1290

 Cardiac glycoside

32

2.5%

13

3.9%

19

2.2%

0.324

0.223

 ACE inhibitor

329

25.5%

99

23.6%

230

26.5%

0.264

0.241

 Statin

761

59.0%

254

60.5%

507

58.3%

0.452

0.578

 Beta-blocker

348

27.0%

104

24.8%

244

28.0%

0.213

0.224

 Nitrates

139

10.8%

39

9.3%

100

11.5%

0.231

0.253

 Oral nutrition support

23

1.8%

1

0.2%

22

2.5%

0.004**

0.003**

Self-referral questions

Falls in the last 12 months (n)

514

1 (0,3)

188

1 (0,3)

326

1 (0,3)

0.842

0.773

Prescribed ≥ 4 tablets per day

539

 Yes

416

77.2%

144

72.7%

272

79.8%

0.061

0.156

Presence of balance issues

536

 Yes

502

93.7%

185

93.9%

317

93.5%

0.855

0.578

Able to rise from a chair unaided

532

 Yes

253

47.6%

98

50.0%

155

46.1%

0.389

0.691

History of blackout in previous 12 months

526

 Yes

66

12.5%

27

13.8%

39

11.8%

0.490

0.103

Able to stand unaided for five minutes

44

 Yes

30

68.2%

3

60.0%

27

69.2%

0.677

0.845

Goal setting

782

 Reduce fear of falling

456

58.3%

233

57.2%

223

59.5%

0.530

0.893

 Feel stronger

453

57.9%

220

54.1%

233

62.1%

0.022*

0.031*

 Feel more stable

578

74.0%

299

73.5%

279

74.6%

0.718

0.862

 Feel more confident out and about

531

68.0%

270

66.3%

261

69.8%

0.302

0.682

 Socialise more

219

28.0%

100

24.6%

119

31.7%

0.026*

0.078

 Feel fitter

52^c

27.1%

37

29.8%

15

22.1%

0.246

0.270

 Feel more able to manage my health

21^c

10.9%

17

13.7%

4

5.9%

0.097

0.103