The Association of Parity with Greater Dynamic Pronation of the Feet.
Marc J Heronemus, Kaitlin Rabe, Irina Tolstykh and 6 others
PMID 32281293WHAT IT FOUND
Women with more children showed greater foot pronation during walking.
This association disappeared after adjusting for age and BMI, suggesting weight and aging may drive the foot changes rather than parity itself.
Key findings
01Higher parity was associated with significantly greater foot pronation (lower CPEI) in unadjusted and race/site-adjusted models.
02The association between parity and foot pronation was no longer statistically significant after adjusting for age and BMI.
03Higher BMI was independently associated with less foot pronation (higher CPEI).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Parity was defined by the number of children born, not pregnancies carried, potentially underestimating exposure. Participants were far removed from pregnancy (mean age 67.7), so findings reflect long-term persistence rather than acute changes. BMI at age 25 was self-reported, which may be less accurate than measured values. The study design cannot determine if pregnancy itself or the lifestyle changes associated with raising children (e.g., manual labor, weight gain) caused the foot changes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that parity causes permanent arch collapse. The significant association between number of children and foot pronation disappeared when adjusted for age and BMI, indicating these factors may be the primary drivers or mediators of the observed foot mechanics.