It’s not the shoes but the weight gain

AMONG people older than 65, knee arthritis is about twice as common in women as men, leading some experts to blame high-heeled shoes for many cases of the painful condition. Footwear, however, doesn’t appear to be the culprit.

A study comparing female osteoarthritis patients, age 50 to 70, with healthy women of the same age found that high heels had little effect on risk. The major threat was being overweight, particularly when weight gain occurred early in life.

Researchers in England interviewed 82 women with healthy joints and 29 women who had moderate knee pain or worse on most days and who were awaiting knee surgery. The participants were asked about their health history and habits since they left high school, as well as certain risk factors (such as their body weight at three stages of their life), whether they played competitive sports and if their work involved regular bending, lifting, squatting or walking. They were also shown photos of 38 styles of shoes and asked which types they wore.

The most significant risk in developing arthritis of the knee was becoming overweight before age 40. High-heel wearing was not associated with arthritis -- nor was being involved in a competitive sport or using oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy. Some activities, such as lifting and bending, appeared to be related, but there was no clear picture of how much of these activities was responsible for knee problems.

Although this study may have taken stilettos off the list of arthritis risk factors, the Oxford Brooks University researchers who conducted the study say they still don’t know why older women are so much more susceptible to the condition than men.

The study is published in the October issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.