Bunions inherited?

If you develop bunions and lesser toe deformities – blame your parents. For a new study has confirmed that white Europeans are likely to inherit their foot problems.

The Framingham Foot Study is the first of its kind to estimate heritability of food disorders in humans and Dr Marian Hannan, from Hebrew SeniorLife and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass, USA, said she hoped her findings would lead to early or preventative treatment.

Using information from 1,370 participants in the study, she and her team estimated heritability using software that performs genetic analyses of familial data.

Foot examinations to identify bunions (hallux valgus), lesser toe deformities and plantar soft tissue atrophy were conducted between 2002 and 2008 and results showed that the prevalence of bunions, lesser toe deformities and plantar soft tissue atrophy was 31%, 30%, and 28%, respectively.

Writing in Arthritis Care & Research, the researchers said bunions and lesser toe deformity, two of the most common structural foot disorders that affect up to half of older adults in the US and Europe, were found to be highly heritable, depending on age and sex.

However, there was no significant evidence for heritability for plantar soft tissue atrophy in the study cohort.

“Our study is the largest investigation of the heritability of common foot disorders in older adults, confirming that bunions and lesser toe deformities are highly inheritable in Caucasian men and women of European descent,” concludes Dr Hannan, who is also editor in chief of Arthritis Care & Research.

“These new findings highlight the importance of furthering our understanding of what causes greater susceptibility to these foot conditions, as knowing more about the pathway may ultimately lead to early prevention or early treatment.”

Previous studies show that as many as 60% of older adults have foot disorders that can limit mobility and reduce their quality of life, while a study by Nix et al claimed that bunions affect 23% of individuals 18 to 65 years of age and 36% of those over 65 years.

Hannan M, Menz H et al. Hallux Valgus and Lesser Toe Deformities are Highly Heritable in Adult Men and Women: the Framingham Foot Study. Arthritis Care and Research. Published online May 20, 2013. Doi: 10.1002/acr.22040.