Subject characteristics for the study group and the control group
| Patients | Controls | p-value | |
| Subjects n | 465 | 462 | |
| Males/females | 231 (50)/234 (50) | 228 (49)/234 (51) | 0.973 |
| Subjects with deformities | 143 (31) | 82 (18) | <0.0001 |
| Males/females with deformities | 74 (52)/69 (48) | 39 (48)/43 (52) | 0.641 |
| Number of vertebral deformities | 0.8 (0.6–0.9) | 0.4 (0.3–0.5) | <0.0001 |
| Age yrs | 63 (32–83) | 65 (50–80) | 0.002 |
| BMI kg·m−2 | 25 (14–54) | 25 (15–46) | 0.063 |
| Pack-yrs | 30 (0–114) | 10 (0–150) | <0.0001 |
| OCS | 201 (43)+,§ | 31 (7)+ | <0.0001 |
| Cumulative dose OCS g | 0.9 (0.0–180.0) | ||
| ICS# | 430 (93) | ||
| HRT¶ | 86 (37) | 68 (29) | 0.157 |
| Calcium/vitamin D | 73 (16) | 27 (6) | <0.0001 |
| Bisphosphonate | 44 (10) | 0 |
Data are presented as n (%) or median (range), unless otherwise stated. The numbers of vertebral deformities are presented as mean (95% confidence interval). BMI: body mass index; OCS: oral corticosteroids; ICS: inhaled corticosteroids; HRT: hormone replacement therapy. #: patients who have used ICS; ¶: females who currently or previously have used HRT; +: patients who have used OCS daily for >2 months; §: patients who have used OCS sporadically for more than four periods of 2 weeks.