Prevalence of Pes Planus and Associated Risk Factors Among School-Going Children Aged 7–14 Years in Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Keywords:
Pes planus, foot deformities, school children, physical activity, body mass index, foot arch, cross-section studies, India.Abstract
Background: Flat foot (pes planus) is a common developmental variation in children and adolescents, typically considered a physiological condition that changes with growth and lifestyle factors. It is significant to gain knowledge of its prevalence and related predictors to be able to differentiate between normal developmental patterns and those that have to be dealt with by some sort of intervention especially when dealing with school-aged populations.
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of flat foot and the correlation of this condition with age, gender, physical activities and anthropometric measurement among school going children between the ages of 7-14 years in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 232 children selected using purposive sampling from a higher secondary school in Chennai.The feet status were measured in the footprint method and arch index computed to categorize the states of the feet arch. The physical activity, body mass index (BMI), weight, height, and gender collected on age using a structured proforma. Statistical software SPSS was used to do the statistical analysis with methods of chi-square and independent Student t-test at the level of p < 0.05.
Results: Its general prevalence was 27.6%. The prevalence was much higher among children aged 7-10 years (34.2%) than during the age of 11-14 years (15%) (p = 0.002). Flat foot occurred much more frequently in physically inactive children (39.1%) than in physically active children (16.2% p < 0.001). Flat foot was not significantly related to gender, BMI, height, and weight (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Flat foot is still a widespread occurrence in a physically inactive school-going children especially the younger. There seems to be a significant role of age and physical activity, but no significant role is determined by gender and anthropmetric measures. Healthy medial longitudinal arch development can be promoted through physical activity in the childhood period.
