Regions Of Foot Research Articles

Structural validation of the Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire for use in foot and ankle surgery.

The Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire (MOxFQ) is an anatomically specific patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) currently used to assess a wide variety of foot and ankle pathology. It consists of 16 items across three subscales measuring distinct but related traits: walking/standing ability, pain, and social interaction. It is the most used foot and ankle PROM in the UK. Initial MOxFQ validation involved analysis of 100 individuals undergoing hallux valgus surgery. This project aimed to establish whether an individual's response to the MOxFQ varies with anatomical region of disease (measurement invariance), and to explore structural validity of the factor structure (subscale items) of the MOxFQ. This was a single-centre, prospective cohort study involving 6,637 patients (mean age 52 years (SD 17.79)) presenting with a wide range of foot and ankle pathologies between January 2013 and December 2021. To assess whether the MOxFQ responses vary by anatomical region of foot and ankle disease, we performed multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. To assess the structural validity of the subscale items, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed. Measurement invariance by pathology was confirmed, suggesting the same model can be used across all foot and ankle anatomical regions. Exploratory factor analysis demonstrated a two- to three-factor model, and suggested that item 13 (inability to carry out work/everyday activities) and item 14 (inability to undertake social/recreational activities) loaded more positively onto the "walking/standing" subscale than their original "social interaction" subscale. This large cohort study supports the current widespread use of the MOxFQ across a broad range of foot and ankle pathologies. Our analyses found indications that could support alterations to the original factor structure (items 13 and 14 might be moved from the "social interaction" to the "walking/standing" subscale). However, this requires further work to confirm.

Structural Validation of the Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire (MOxFQ) for use in Foot and Ankle Surgery

Category: Other Introduction/Purpose: The Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire (MOxFQ) is a condition specific patient reported outcome measure (PROM) for foot and ankle surgery. It consists of 16 items across three subscales measuring distinct, but related traits: walking/standing ability, pain, and social interaction. Although it is the most used foot and ankle PROM in the UK, initial MOxFQ validation involved analysis of only 100 individuals undergoing hallux valgus surgery. This project aimed to establish whether an individual’s response to the MOxFQ varies with anatomical region of disease (measurement invariance), and to explore structural validity of the factor structure (subscale items) of the MOxFQ. Methods: This was a single-centre, prospective cohort study involving 6640 patients (mean age 52, range 10-90 years) presenting with a wide range of foot and ankle pathologies between 2013 and 2021. Firstly, to assess whether the MOxFQ responses vary by anatomical region of foot and ankle disease, we performed multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. Secondly, to assess the structural validity of the subscale items, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed. Results: Measurement invariance by pathology was confirmed suggesting the same model can be used across all foot and ankle anatomical regions. Exploratory factor analysis demonstrated a 2-3 factor model, and suggested that item 13 (inability to carry out my work/everyday activities) and item 14 (inability to undertake social/recreational activities) loaded more positively onto the walking/standing subscale than their original social interaction subscale. Conclusion: This large-cohort study supports the current widespread use of the MOxFQ across a broad range of foot and ankle pathologies. Items 13 and 14 might be better moved from the “social interaction” to the “walking/standing” subscale and this may have future implications for deriving/analysing subscale scores.

Integration of reginal shear measurements at the foot-ground interface during routine balance assessment of the elderly population

BackgroundForce-plate posturography offers a convenient way for quantitative assessment of postural stability in the elderly. However, studies focusing on routine balance assessment have usually not taken reginal shear distributions (i.e., arising from horizontal forces) into consideration. Research question(1) Does plantar shear distribution differ between young and elderly subjects during upright standing? (2) How do the maximum plantar shear forces vary at different regions of the foot? MethodsThe new reginal shear measurement (RSM) method can simultaneously capture the three-dimensional force distributions at regional plantar sites while subjects maintaining standing balance. The feasibility of the proposed method in characterizing the magnitude and distribution of plantar shear forces was tested in thirty-two normal young and nineteen elderly subjects. Statistical analysis was performed using the independent samples t-test for both the continuous and ordinal variables. ResultsFor regional AP shear forces, statistically significant differences were found between the two groups for the toe region of the right foot and the midfoot of both feet. For ML shear distributions, statistically significant differences were found at nearly all plantar sites expect for the hallux and lateral metatarsal. The maximum increase in ML shear forces occurred in the toe region of the right foot, where the peak shear values were 113.16% higher than those of the young subjects. The peak ML shear occurred in the midfoot were averagely 83.19% and 70.57% higher in the elderly’s left and right feet, respectively. SignificanceThe RSM method may offer unique solutions to identify functional decline in postural control of the elderly. The plantar shear pattern has potential to become an important parameter in evaluating one’s balance performance during upright standing.

Study of management of postburn flexion contracture of finger by glabrous versus nonglabrous split skin graft

Aims and Objectives: This prospective study was designed to determine the outcome of split-thickness glabellar and nonglabellar skin graft for the coverage of defects on palmar aspect of hand after release of postburn contracture in terms of graft take, complications, recurrence, and patient satisfaction for color and texture match. Materials and Methods: This prospective comparative study was carried out on patients from December 2018 to December 2020. Fifty patients were randomly divided into two groups by simple randomization method. Group A was offered treatment with split-thickness graft from glabellar region and other Group B was offered treatment with split-thickness graft from nonglabellar skin. Frequencies and percentages of both recipient and donor sites complications such as infection, hypertrophic scarring on the Vancouver scar assessment scale, recurrence, and difficulty in walking were noted. Patient satisfaction for colour and texture match to neighboring skin at recipient site were assessed 3 months after the operation using five points Likert scale. Results: At follow-up of the Group A, the donor areas were completely healed in all the cases 100%. The grafted area showed excellent color and texture match with the adjacent palmer skin. The graft was mobile, stable and without any pigmentation. There was also no hypertrophic scarring, hyperpigmentation or pain at the donor site as compared to ordinary skin graft. Walking and weight bearing were smooth and the instep curvature appeared normal. In Group B, 100% of patients had hyperpigmentation, 20% had marginal scarring and scar hypertrophy at hand. While 40% had scar hypertrophy at 80% had hyperpigmentation over the donor site. Recurrence was noted in 32% of patients in Group B as compared to 8% in Group A. Conclusions: Glabellar skin of the instep is the best replacement for the palmar skin of the digits and hand because of the similarities in their characteristics. Results are excellent in terms of color and texture match, no hyperpigmentation, less marginal scarring, scar hypertrophy, and less recurrence of contracture in patients with area grafted with glabellar skin. Donor site morbidity is very low and hardly any donor site scar is visible. So in conclusion for the management of postburn flexion contracture of the finger. An ideal skin substitute is glabellar skin grafts from the instep region of foot.

Decoding the byssus fabrication by spatiotemporal secretome analysis of scallop foot

Secretome is involved in almost all physiological, developmental, and pathological processes, but to date there is still a lack of highly-efficient research strategy to comprehensively study the secretome of invertebrates. Adhesive secretion is a ubiquitous and essential physiological process in aquatic invertebrates with complicated protein components and unresolved adhesion mechanisms, making it a good subject for secretome profiling studies. Here we proposed a computational pipeline for systematic profiling of byssal secretome based on spatiotemporal transcriptomes of scallop. A total of 186 byssus-related proteins (BRPs) were identified, which represented the first characterized secretome of scallop byssal adhesion. Scallop byssal secretome covered almost all of the known structural elements and functional domains of aquatic adhesives, which suggested this secretome-profiling strategy had both high efficiency and accuracy. We revealed the main components of scallop byssus (including EGF-like domain containing proteins, the Tyr-rich proteins and 4C-repeats containing proteins) and the related modification enzymes primarily contributing to the rapid byssus assembly and adhesion. Spatiotemporal expression and co-expression network analyses of BRPs suggested a simultaneous secretion pattern of scallop byssal proteins across the entire region of foot and revealed their diverse functions on byssus secretion. In contrast to the previously proposed “root-initiated secretion and extension-based assembly” model, our findings supported a novel “foot-wide simultaneous secretion and in situ assembly” model of scallop byssus secretion and adhesion. Systematic analysis of scallop byssal secretome provides important clues for understanding the aquatic adhesive secretion process, as well as a common framework for studying the secretome of non-model invertebrates.

Accessory Ossicles in the Region of the Foot and Ankle: An Epidemiologic Survey in a Jordanian Population.

Background and Objectives: The incidence of accessory bones in the region of foot and ankle is quite variable between studies and are often confused with avulsion fractures in trauma patients with musculoskeletal injuries. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of accessory ossicles of the foot and ankle according to gender, side and coexistence, and to determine how frequently accessory ossicles were misdiagnosed as avulsion fractures. Materials and Methods: Oblique and/or lateral foot radiographs of 1000 adult patients referred from emergency departments to foot and ankle clinic were retrospectively reviewed for the presence of accessory ossicles. The Kappa statistic was used in order to assess the validity of radiographic interpretation for the presence of these bones. Results: Accessory ossicles were detected in 40.2% of the radiographs. The incidence rates for the accessory ossicles in order of frequency were: Os trigonum (15.4%), accessory navicular (13.7%), os peroneum (11.5%), os vesalianum (1.1%), os supranaviculare (0.7%), os subfibulare (0.6%), os talotibiale (0.4%), os calcaneus secundarius (0.3%), os supratalare (0.3%), os infranaviculare (0.3%), os intermetatarseum (0.2%), and os subtibiale (0.1%). Coexistence of two or three ossicles in the same foot was observed in 4.4% of the cases, mostly coexistence with os peroneum (2.9%), followed by accessory navicular (1.6%). 2.7% of accessory ossicles were initially misdiagnosed as avulsion fractures at emergency departments. Interrater agreement over identification of different accessory ossicles was found to be reasonably reliable, with a Kappa greater than 0.80 for all assessed bones. Conclusions: In clinical practice, a thorough knowledge of normal anatomical variants is essential to facilitate appropriate diagnosis and treatment and can help to prevent diagnostic errors.

Post road traffic accident one-month old, extra-large heel defect coverage by delayed reverse sural artery flap: an interesting case report

Post road traffic accident (RTA) complete heel avulsion injury is not very common, but once it happened, it is very challenging to plastic and reconstructive surgeon to reconstruct the total heal avulsion defect. There is paucity of soft tissue in the region of foot, ankle and lower one third of leg. Although the micro vascular free flap reconstruction is gold standard for reconstruction of large heel defect but not feasible most of the time. Reverse sural artery flap (RSAF) is a workhorse flap for reconstruction of heel and lower 1/3rd leg defect. Here we reported a case of 28 years old young man, who had road traffic accident and sustained complete right heel avulsion injury with calcaneal and right tibia bone fracture. Patient was presented to author one month later after the injury with extra-large infective right heel defect size 15×12 cm with k-wires in exposed calcaneal bone. Patient’s surgery was done in two stages. Delayed RSAF survived completely and well settled in our case.

A study of the dermatoglyphic pattern in diabetic subjects in Kalaburagi district

Dermatoglyphics is the scientific study of epidermal ridges and their configurations on the palmar region of hand and fingers and plantar region of foot and toes. Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from defect in insulin secretion, action or both. Dermatoglyphic patterns are genetically determined and can be used as supportive for diagnosis of various hereditary disorders including T2DM. This study was carried out to compare palmar dermatoglyphic pattern in T2DM and control group and compare with previous studies. A hospital based case control study was conducted 100 cases of T2DM are taken from Basaweshwar hospital Gulbarga, and another 100 persons are included as control group. The palms and fingers are smeared with ink to bring out the dermatoglyphiic patterns which were subsequently studied.There was increased number of whorls and decreased number of ulnar loops in both T2DM patients compared with normal individuals. Total finger ridge count and Absolute finger ridge count is increased in both T2DM patients and there is also increased atd angle. The knowledge of dermatoglyphics in patients with T2DM and essential hypertension can be utilized to find out genetic correlation. The existence of such relation might be important for the screening programme for prevention of T2DM.

Fibroma of tendon sheath in the distal metatarsal region of foot mimicking GCT of tendon sheath: A rare tumor

Rationale: Fibroma of tendon sheath is a rare benign tumor that is attached to the tendon sheath. Patient concerns: A 16-year-old boy presented with a painless mass in his right foot, which was initially misdiagnosed as a giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath. Diagnosis: Fibroma of tendon sheath, which exhibited radiographic features similar to those of giant cell tumor of tendon sheath. Excisional biopsy demonstrated spindle-shaped cells and collagen-like stroma. Interventions: The patient underwent excision biopsy. Outcomes: The patient recovered well and showed no signs of recurrence at 6-month follow-up. Lessons: This case provides valuable insights for foot and ankle surgeons. While radiological investigations are helpful in many diseases, histological examination is indispensable for establishment of the final diagnosis. Abbreviations: FTS = fibroma of tendon sheath, MRI = magnetic resonance imaging. GCTTS = giant cell tumor of tendon sheath.

The Plantar Pressure Analysis of Open Stance Forehand in Female Tennis Players

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze plantar pressure during the open stance forehand (OSF) in female tennis players. Methods: Seven female players executed the tennis forehand technique with open stance in the biomechanical laboratory. A portable pressure insole system was adopted to collect mean pressure (MP), peak pressure (PP), force (F), pressure-time integral (PTI) and contact area (CA) in 7 regions of the feet. Independent sample T-test was used to analyze the difference among these parameters. Results: F, PP in the first phalangeal region (BT) and the remaining four toe regions (OT) of the right foot (RF) were both larger than the left foot (LF); F in the fourth and fifth metatarsophalangeal joint (M4-5), the middle foot region (MF), hind foot region（HF）and PP in M4-5 of LF were significantly greater than the same region in RF; MP in BT and OT of RF showed significantly higher pressure than LF. While MP among areas of M4-5 and HF of LF was significantly greater than RF; PTI, CA in OT, M4-5 and MF of RF were significantly higher than LF while M1, M2-3, M4-5 and MF of LF showed significant smaller. Conclusion: RF role was to generate the power and LF role was to stabilize the balance of the body during the OFS. However, long-term and repeated open stance was likely to lead to the overuse injuries in the regions of M1 and HF of both feet.

Study of Plantar Pressure Distribution

Every region of foot is not equally divided in terms of plantar pressure distribution (PPD) during free standing. This paper is focusing on studying PPD on flat plane and inclined plane and the results obtained from this study may contribute to biomedical researcher in designing orthotic devices. 24 healthy young adults age ranging from 19 to 24 years old and weigh between 50 to 80 kg were invited for experiments purpose. Six regions of both feet were measured which were hallux, medial forefoot, central forefoot, lateral forefoot, lateral midfoot and hindfoot. Remarkable differences were seen in the result as right foot exerted more pressure generally in every region of the foot as to compared with left foot respectively. This is true especially for region such as hallux, medial forefoot and lateral forefoot. On a flat surface, PPD on the hindfoot is the highest. However, at an elevation of 25°, test subjects began to shift their PPD to forefoot regions. While studies of PPD are common, this study provides a new insight for the first time into PPD while standing on different angle of walking plane.

Molecular Evaluation of Vp1 Coding Region of Foot and Mouth Disease Virus Circulating in Pakistan

Molecular Evaluation of Vp1 Coding Region of Foot and Mouth Disease Virus Circulating in Pakistan

Dermatoglyphics patterns in patients suffering from primary amenorrhea and control population

Background: Dermatoglyphics is branch of medical science, which deals with the study of epidermal ridges and their configuration on the palmer region of hand and finger and planter region of foot and toes. Inspection of skin ridges provide a simple, inexpensive means of information to determine whether a given patient could have a particular chromosomal defect. Amenorrhea is defined primary when menarche does not occur by the age of 16 years in a girl with complete secondary sexual development. In the present study an attempt has been made to correlate primary amenorrhea and dermatoglyphics. Method: 40 normal females with primary amenorrhea were taken as case and 40 normal females with normal menstrual cycle were taken for study. Dermatoglyphic prints were obtained using ink method. Result: The mean value of atd angle shows statistically significant increase in patients than that of controls. Frequency of thenar/ ID1 pattern, ID2area, ID3area, IDarea in a both right and left hands of primary amenorrhea patients and in control is insignificant. Similarly, there is increased frequency of hypothenar area pattern in patients as compared to controls in left hand, which is found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: Primary amenorrhoea and Dermatoglyphics, both have the suspected multifactorial (genetic and environmental) aetiologies. Dermatoglyphics, due to their suspected genetic aetiology. use for prognosis of disease and also the identification of people with the genetic predisposition to develop certain disease or early onset of symptoms.

Risk Factors Related to Lower Limb Edema, Compression, and Physical Activity During Pregnancy: A Retrospective Study

The aim of the article was to assess risk factors and to analyze methods applied in the prevention and treatment of lower limb edema in pregnant women with a particular focus on compression therapy and exercise. Fifty-four women during the early 24-hour period following delivery were assigned to two groups-either to a group with swellings of lower limbs during pregnancy, located mostly in the region of feet and lower legs (Group A, n = 42), or to a group without edema (Group B, n = 12). Two subgroups, namely A1 and A2, were additionally distinguished in Group A. Compression therapy that consisted in wearing circular-knit compression garments, usually at compression level 1 (ccl1), with three cases of compression level 2 (ccl2) was applied only in Group A1 (n = 18 women). The analysis has led to a conclusion that there is a link between the occurrence of edema during pregnancy on the one hand and the pregravidity episodes of venous conditions (vascular insufficiency and thrombosis, p < 0.05) and the lack of physical exercise during pregnancy (p = 0.01) on the other hand. However, interdependence between the occurrence of edema and the number of times a female had been pregnant, physical activity before gravidity, or body mass index before gravidity has not been identified. Only 33% of the analyzed women applied compression therapy during pregnancy; a half of them continued to apply compression during the postpartum period. Compression therapy in combination with proper physical exercises appears to be an effective means to prevent and treat venous thrombosis and lower limb edema in pregnant women, yet further research in line with the principles of evidence-based medicine is required.

The thermoregulation of healthy individuals, overweight-obese, and diabetic from the plantar skin thermogram: a clue to predict the diabetic foot.

ABSTRACTBackground: Thermoregulation is a complex autonomic process to keep or to dissipate heat in the human body.Methods: In this work, by means of the thermogram of the plantar skin, the thermoregulation of healthy individuals, overweight–obese, and diabetic is discussed.Results: The thermograms of the plantar skin, for the healthy individuals, are: (1) symmetrical, the temperature distribution of the right foot being a mirror image of that of the left foot ; (2) the thermograms of women, on average, are 3°C colder than those of the men; and (3) the temperature distributions decrease distally from the medial longitudinal arch. The plantar skin thermograms of overweight–obese individuals show: (1) increased average temperature of both feet and for both genders; (2) no symmetry between the left and right feet thermograms; and (3) the temperature distribution is still decreasing from the medial longitudinal arch to the periphery of the foot. However, the standard deviation, for each averaged temperature of the angiosomes, shows greater uncertainty. Most thermograms of diabetic individuals show temperature increase on the plantar skin, and are mostly symmetric between left and right feet.Conclusions: An asymmetric thermogram of the plantar skin of diabetic individuals, where one foot is hotter than the other, may mean that the coldest foot is losing the capacity to communicate properly with the central nervous system and/or that vasoconstriction/vasodilatation is having problems in regulating the passing of blood through the vessels. Thus, the asymmetric thermograms of diabetic patients, and particularly those coldest regions of foot are of interest, because of the reduction of the local autonomic sensing and the lack of achieving properly the passing of the blood.

PREVALENCE OF FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE AT CHUADANGA SADAR UPAZILLA IN BANGLADESH

A study on clinical observation, management and complication of foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in cattle was carried out in Chuadanga sadar upazilla during 24 weeks period from July 2012 to January 2013. Clinical data were collected from 108 cattle of both sexes. The effect of season, breed, age, sex and purpose of keeping cattle on the incidence of the disease was analyzed. Seasonal variation of the disease was significant. Crossbred was found to be more susceptible than local breed. The prevalence of the disease was found significantly higher in male than female. The clinical prevalence of FMD increased in the month of November (31.48%). The prevalence of FMD in other months varies from 5-21%. Clinical observation of FMD affected cattle showed fever, anorexia, salivation and erosive lesion on oral mucosa and inter digital region of foot. Antibacterial drug could be recommended for clinical practice to control secondary bacterial infection in complicated FMD cases.

Assessment of the Plantar Pressure, Muscle Strength and Balance in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Cyprus

Aims: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder which affects whole systems of human body. This study aimed to compare the strength of foot muscles, dynamic balance, and peak plantar pressure between diabetic patients before developing polyneuropathy and healthy peers. Methods: 21 people, 11 diabetic patients and 10 age-matched healthy peers, were included in the study. A manual muscle tester (model 01163 Lafayette) was used to assess muscle strength. Pedobarography was the device to determine the distribution of plantar pressure into nine regions of foot. Dynamic balance was also measured by using a mobile platform (Techno-body, PK 200 WL, Italy). Results: Diabetic and control groups had similar muscle strength and dynamic balance (p > 0.05). Most of the plantar pressure findings were also similar (p > 0.05). There were significant differences in only two regions of foot between two groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Diabetes Mellitus is not a factor influencing balance and muscle strength before polyneuropathy. However, it is possible to state that it may negatively affect the distribution of plantar pressure so clinians should assess and treat this distribution in the patients with DM.

Finite element analysis on relationship between wearing high-heeled shoes and stresses in intermetatarsal region of foot

Finite element analysis on relationship between wearing high-heeled shoes and stresses in intermetatarsal region of foot

Clinical values of hemodynamics assessment by parametric color coding of digital subtraction angiography before and after endovascular therapy for critical limb ischaemia

To investigate the feasibility of parametric color coding of digital subtraction angiography (Syngo iFlow) for hemodynamics assessment in patients with critical limb ischemia in pre- and post-endovascular therapy. To explore the correlation between Syngo iFlow and the conventional techniques. from January 2013 to December 2014, Clinical data of 21 patients with TASC II type B and type C femoropopliteal arteriosclerotic occlusive disease who were treated by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and/or primary stent implantation in Nanjing first hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Of these patients there were 10 males and 11 females with an average age of (72±6) years (range from 58-85 years). The treatment efficacy was assessed by the variation of a series of clinical symptoms indexes (such as pain score, cold sensation score and intermittent claudication score), ankle braehial index (ABI) and transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO2). Angiography was performed with the same protocol before and after treatment and parametric color coding of digital subtraction angiography was created by Syngo iFlow software on a dedicated workstation. The time to peak (TTP) of artery and tissue perfusion selected at the same regions of foot and ankle were measured and analyzed to evaluate the improvement of microcirculation and hemodynamics of the ischemic limb. The correlations between Syngo iFlow and the traditional clinical evaluation methods were explored using the Spearman rank correlation test. All patients (21 limbs) underwent successful endovaseular therapy. The mean pain score, cold sensation score, intermittent claudication score, ABI and TcPO2 before treatment were (0.48±0.68), (2.71±0.72), (2.86±0.85), ABI (0.33±0.07), TcPO2 (26.83±3.41) mmHg. While 1 week after treatment all above indicators were (2.57±0.93), (0.33±0.48), (0.90±0.54), (0.69±0.11), TcPO2 (53.75±3.60) mmHg respectively. There were significant statistical differences between pre- and post-treatment (P<0.05). The pre- and post-operative TTP of artery and tissue perfusion were (14.07±1.77) vs (10.43±2.05) s, (18.75±2.72) vs (15.38±2.78) s. For assessment of hemodynamic changes during and after treatment, parametric color coding of digital subtraction angiography (Syngo iFlow) was assumed to show the limb blood flow and perfusion were improved and the differences were statistically significant. The Spearman rank correlation test showed the TTP of artery was positively correlated with ABI, TcPO2 (r=0.65, 0.73, P<0.05), the TTP of tissue perfusion was also positively correlated with ABI, TcPO2 (r=0.60, 0.60, P<0.05). Parametric color coding of digital subtraction angiography (Syngo iFlow) is a real-time, sensitive and quantitative tool that might provide additional support in the hemodynamics evaluation of endovascular treatment for patients with lower extremity peripheral arterial occlusion disease.

Dermatoglyphic analysis of fingertip and palmer print patterns of obese children

Background: Dermatoglyphics is the scientific term used for study of epidermal ridges and their configuration on the palmer region of hand and planter region of foot and toes. Obesity is a multifactorial condition (polygenic and environmental). Factors determining obesity in utero may influence dermatoglyphic patterns. Objectives: To identify dermatoglyphic patterns in obese individuals and to find out the association between the dermatoglyphic patterns and obesity. Material and Methods: Three government and three private schools were selected by simple random sampling, with a sample size of 370. A predesigned and pretested questionnaire was used to interview the study participants to elicit the information. Body weight and height was measured and body mass index was calculated. Results: In 42% obese individuals, there was an increase in the number of arches in thumb, mainly right thumb. Out all obese, 29% showed increase in the ATD angle value. There was presence of additional triradii in 17% of obese individuals. Among all obese individuals, 21% had abnormal endings of the main palm lines whereas 11% had reduced C line. Conclusion: Dermatoglyphic patterns can be used as a marker to detect the obesity. An increased number of arches in thumb may be considered in identifying individuals at high risk for obesity. So, necessary preventive and promotive health measures can be adopted in such identified high-risk individuals.