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Background: Socioeconomic status (SES) has been suggested as a risk factor for falls but the few prospective studies to test this have had mixed results. We evaluated the prospective association between SES and falls in the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project (CHAMP).Methods: CHAMP is a population-based prospective cohort study of men aged ≥70 years in Sydney, Australia. Incident falls were ascertained by triannual telephone calls for up to 4 years. SES was assessed with 4 indicators (education, occupation, source of income, home ownership) and cumulative SES score. We tested for interaction between SES indicators and country of birth and conducted stratified analyses.Results: We evaluated 1624 men (mean age: 77.3 ± 5.4 years). During a mean ± SD follow-up of 42.6 ± 8.7 months, 766 (47%) participants reported ≥1 incident falls. In nonstratified analyses, there were no associations between SES indicators and falls. In stratified analyses, falls rates were higher among Australian-born men with less formal education (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.66, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16-2.37, compared with those with more education) and those with low occupational position (1.45; 1.09-1.93). However, among men born in non-main English-speaking countries the rate of falls was lower among those with low educational level and no associations were evident for occupational position.Conclusions: Lower educational level and occupational position predicted a higher falls rate in Australian-born men; the opposite relationship was evident for educational level among migrants born in non-main English-speaking countries. Further studies should test these relationships in different populations and settings and evaluate targeted interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Conflicting evidence exists regarding the association of socioeconomic status (SES) with mortality among older people and little is known about the mechanisms underlying this association. We investigated the association of SES with mortality among older Australian men. We also investigated potential mediating effects of health-related behaviours in SES-mortality associations.Methods: We used data from a prospective population-based cohort (the Concord Health and Aging in Men Project), in Sydney, Australia. The main outcomes were all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Educational attainment, occupational position, source of income, housing tenure, and a cumulative SES score were assessed at baseline. Longitudinally assessed alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, and body mass index were investigated as potential mediators. Associations were quantified using Cox regression.Results: We evaluated 1527 men (mean age: 77.4 ± 5.5 years). During a mean follow-up time of 9.0 years, 783 deaths occurred. For deaths from all causes, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for the lowest tertile of cumulative SES score versus the highest tertile was 1.44 (95% CI 1.21 to 1.70); the corresponding sub-HRs were 1.35 (0.96 to 1.89) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality; 1.58 (1.15 to 2.18) for cancer mortality, and 1.86 (1.36 to 2.56) for non-CVD, non-cancer mortality. SES-mortality associations were attenuated by 11-25% after adjustment for mediating health-related behaviours.Conclusion: Low SES is associated with increased mortality in older Australian men and health-related behaviours accounted for less than one-fourth of these associations. Further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms underlying SES inequalities in mortality among older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]