Study: Bunions Linked to Parents

News Flash: Your parents caused your unsightly feet.

That is to say, scientists have discovered bunions --- foot deformities in which the big toe joints grow outward and sideways --- are more caused by genetics than footwear.

In a study published in the May issue of the journal Arthritis Care & Research, researchers determined people of European descent often inherit toe deformities including bunions, the latter of which women around the globe have blamed on ill-fitting shoes, more to the point, those with stiletto heels.

Bunions occur the big toe, otherwise called the hallux, grows towards, and sometimes under or over, the other toes.

Then, the tissues surrounding the joint may become swollen and tender.

A well-known 1949 study that looked at how bunions were not found in countries such as China and India, where women who very different shoe styles, led researchers and many others to conclude the shoes were the primary factor.

However, Dr. Marian Hannan of Hebrew SeniorLife and Harvard Medical School in Boston, said in a journal news release, the recently data confirm "that bunions and lesser toe deformities are highly inheritable in [white] men and women of European descent."

Prior research revealed that an estimated 23 percent of people aged 18 to 65, and 36 percent of those older than 65 have bunions.

The new analysis was based on a survey of nearly 1,400 people enrolled in the Framingham Foot Study.

The participants averaged 66 years of age and each underwent a foot exam between 2002 and 2008 to determine if they had bunions, toe deformities such as "hammer toes," where a toe appears permanently bent, or a condition called plantar soft tissue atrophy, in which fatty tissue under the ball of the foot breaks down.

Of those examined, 31 percent had bunions, 30 percent had toe deformities and 28 percent had plantar soft tissue atrophy. The study revealed bunions and toe deformities, but not plantar soft tissue atrophy, were highly inheritable depending on age and gender.

"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," concluded Hannan, who also serves as the journal's editor-in-chief.