Bunions are more common in women than in men.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Ferrari J, Higgins JPT, Prior TD.
Interventions for treating hallux valgus (abductovalgus) and bunions (Cochrane review).
In: The Cochrane Library. Wiley, Chichester, UK.

 

 

 

 

 

¹ Less than a quarter of men have these bony bumps, compared with up to half of women.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Kilmartin TE, Barrington RL, Wallace WA.
A controlled prospective trial of a foot orthosis for juvenile hallux valgus.
Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery: British Volume. 1994; 76: 210-214.

 

 

 

 

 

² Women may get bunions more because they wear tighter shoes. But bunions also happen in 1 in 50 people in parts of the world where shoes aren't worn.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Ferrari J, Higgins JPT, Prior TD.
Interventions for treating hallux valgus (abductovalgus) and bunions (Cochrane review).
In: The Cochrane Library. Wiley, Chichester, UK.

 

 

 

 

 

¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Mann RA, Coughlin MJ.
Adult hallux valgus.
In: Surgery of the foot and ankle, volume 1. 7th edition. Mosby, St Louis, U.S.A.; 1999.

 

 

 

 

 

³

Bunions are also more common in older people than in younger people.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Dunn KM, McBride DJ, Bridgman SA.
Trends in hospital admissions and surgical procedures for acquired toe deformities in the West Midlands, England 1988-1997.
The Foot. 1999; 9: 185-188.

 

 

 

 

 

⁴ About twice as many people over the age of 60 have bunions compared with people between the ages of 30 and 60.

Bunions are less common in children. A study of schoolchildren found that about 1 in 50 children ages 9 and 10 years had problems with their toe joints that can lead to bunions.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Kilmartin TE, Barrington RL, Wallace WA.
Metatarsus primus varus: a statistical study.
Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery: British Volume. 1991; 73: 937-940.

 

 

 

 

 

⁵ Girls were more likely to have a big toe out of line than boys.

Bunions are more common in African-Americans than in white Americans.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Dunn JE, Link CL, Felson DT, et al.
Prevalence of foot and ankle conditions in a multiethnic community sample of older adults.
American Journal of Epidemiology. 2004; 159: 491-498.

 

 

 

 

 

⁶ In one study in the United States, slightly more than a third of white Americans had bunions, compared with almost half of African-Americans. But only a quarter of the people in the study from Puerto Rico had bunions. Researchers aren't sure why this is.

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