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Objectives. This study examined the prevalence and consequences of foot binding in older Chinese women.
Methods. Women older than 70 years in Beijing, China, were assessed for bound feet, falls, functional status, and bone density.
Results. Thirty-eight percent of women aged 80 years and older and 18% of women aged 70 through 79 years had bound-foot deformities. Women with bound feet were more likely to fall, less able to squat, and less able to stand up from a chair without assistance than women with normal feet. They also had 14.3% less functional reach (a test of balance) and 5.1% lower hip bone density.
Conclusions. Foot binding has caused substantial disability that is still evident in many elderly Chinese women. (Am J Public Health 1997; 87:1677-1679)
Introduction
The practice of foot binding began in the Sung dynasty (AD 9601280) in China, reportedly to imitate an imperial concubine who was required to dance with her feet bound.' By the 12th century, the practice was widespread and more severe: feet were bound so tightly and so early in life that women were unable to dance and had difficulty walking. 1,2 When a girl was about 3 years old, all but the first toe on each foot were broken and the feet bound with cloth strips that were tightened over the course of 2 years to keep the feet shorter than 10 cm and to bend the sole into extreme concavity (Figure 1). Foot binding ceased in the 20th century with the end of imperial dynasties and the increasing influence of Western fashion. As the practice waned, some girls' feet were released after initial binding, leaving less severe deformities.
The prevalence and consequences of foot-binding deformity have never been studied. We studied foot-binding deformities as part of a study of osteoporosis in older women in Beijing.
Methods
We randomly selected one health section from each of Beijing's central districts, then randomly selected neighborhoods from each section and randomly ordered streets within the selected neighborhoods. We interviewed all women aged 50 or older on each street until we reached a quota proportional to the population of women aged 50 or older in that district, according to the 1990 China census.
We invited random samples of interviewees (with a goal...