05/23/2013    

FOOT-RELATED STUDIES IN THE NEWS

New Study Confirms Hereditary Link for Bunions

Got bunions? You can thank your grandparents or parents for those, according to a new study. The research, published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research, shows that many common foot disorders, including hammertoe, claw toe, and bunions seem to be inherited, particularly among white men and women of European descent.

In the new study, researchers looked at foot bunions, lesser toe deformities, and plantar soft tissue atrophy among 1,370 study participants with an average age of 66 who were part of the Framingham Foot Study. Researchers found that 31 percent of the participants had bunions, 30 percent had lesser toe deformities and 28 percent had plantar soft tissue atrophy. They found bunions and lesser toe deformities seemed to be particularly heritable, though the plantar soft tissue atrophy didn't seem to be heritable.

Source: Huffington Post [5/20/13]