Table 1.

Characteristics of women by exposure to fluoride in drinking water, 1971-1990. Figures are proportion of women unless stated otherwise

Category	No exposure (n=2563)	Mixed exposure (n=1348)	Continuous exposure (n=3218)
Mean age (years)	74.5	74.2	73.9*
Education >12 years	33.0	32.6	45.1*
Mean weight (kg)	68.5	67.7	66.5*
Walks for exercise	52.6	50.6	52.1
Mean muscle strength (knee extension) (kg)	19.4	17.9*	17.0*
Mean muscle strength (grip strength) (kg)	21.0	20.7	21.5*
Fall in past 12 months	29.5	28.9	28.9
Surgical menopause	15.2	11.5*	11.5*
Mean calcium intake (mg/week)	4733	4735	5189*
No difficulties in functional status	79.8	79.9	80.1
Mean No of alcohol drinks/week	1.4	1.5	2.4*
Current smoker	8.5	9.8	9.5
History of medical conditions:
Osteoporosis	12.2	14.4†	14.4†
Non-insulin dependent diabetes	6.5	6.9	4.1*
Current oestrogen use	18.8	15.4†	20.4
Current thiazide diuretic use	29.0	26.7	24.8*
Current thyroid hormone use	12.8	13.3	10.7†

^*P⩽0.001 compared with category of no exposure. 

^†P⩽0.050 compared with category of no exposure.