All participants lived in public (43.6%) or private (32.6%) housing. Slightly less than one-third, 30.6%, were living alone, while 20.1% were living as couples with their spouse or partner and 1.7% were living with the maid. A larger proportion, 47.6%, was living with other family members. In terms of mobility, 97.1% could walk independently outdoors, and most (78.4%) did not require walking aids. Within the home, 71.6% could take care of light household duties independently, and 46.8% could perform heavy household duties independently. More than three- quarters, or 76.4%, had chronic diseases: 48.5% suffered from high blood pressure, 19.4% from diabetes, 19.3% from eye disease, and 10.6% from cardiac disease. Finally, 19.9% reported falls and 7.9% reported domestic accidents over the preceding 12 months. Of the 592 participants, 456 completed follow-ups over 12 months. The overall dropout rate was 23% (136/ 592).
The characteristics of fallers who completed the follow-up are described in Table 1 (n = 73). Seventy-