Baseline characteristics of the 469 095 participants included in the main analysis, by pre-existing coeliac disease. Data are number (%), unless otherwise specified
| No coeliac disease (n=467 012) | Coeliac disease (n=2083) | |
| Mean (SD) age (years) | 6.7 (8.1) | 58.1 (7.9) |
| Women | 260 471 (55.8) | 1489 (71.5) |
| Ethnicity other than white | 25 082 (5.4) | 33 (1.6) |
| Wheat-free diet* | 6347 (1.4) | 1742 (84.0) |
| Education level | ||
| No qualifications | 74 082 (15.9) | 404 (19.4) |
| GCSE | 78 135 (16.7) | 368 (17.7) |
| A levels | 25 645 (5.5) | 105 (5.0) |
| Higher education | 279 977 (60.0) | 1184 (56.8) |
| Townsend deprivation index† | ||
| 1 (most affluent) | 94 967 (20.3) | 461 (22.1) |
| 2 | 93 818 (20.1) | 435 (20.9) |
| 3 | 93 780 (20.1) | 437 (21.0) |
| 4 | 93 266 (20.0) | 374 (18.0) |
| 5 (most deprived) | 90 602 (19.4) | 374 (18.0) |
SD=standard deviation.
*UK Biobank asked participants if they ate a wheat-free diet, so gluten-free diet consumption cannot be ascertained.
†Quintile defined by baseline distribution of UK Biobank population.