The Prevalence of Flat Foot among School-aged Children in a Nigerian Population Prevalence of Flat Foot among School-aged Children in a Nigerian

Abstract

Background: A flatfoot deformity is a common foot deformity in children worldwide, with wide and varied prevalence estimates. This may predispose to a rigid deformity that may result in chronic foot pain, and back, hip, and knee pain requiring avoidable complex surgical procedures. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of flatfoot deformity in the study population using the method of footprint, and its relationship with age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). Materials and Methods: The static footprints of 1758 primary school children, aged 5 to 13 years, were obtained using the ink method on a white duplicating paper from 8 randomly selected primary schools within the study area. Subjects included age-class matched 5 to 7 years who were in classes 1 and 2, 8 to 10 years who were in classes 3 and 4, and 11 to 13 years who were in classes 5 and 6. Weight and height were measured, and the BMI was calculated. The footprint was measured to classify the foot into normal and flatfoot. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results: The prevalence of flatfoot deformity was 15.69% in this study with a male: female ratio of 1: 1.1. The prevalence of flatfoot deformity decreased with increasing age, which was significant at p=0.000. There was no significant association between flatfoot deformity and BMI, (p=0.820). Conclusion: Flat foot is a common foot deformity in the study population. Its prevalence decreases with age, and it occurs equally in both gender. BMI did not affect flatfoot.