Age and gender in underfoot accidents

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of gender and age in the population of patients attending hospital as a result of ‘underfoot’ accidents. Patients attending hospital for the diagnosis and treatment of injuries were interviewed using a portable computer-based questionnaire, the Merseyside Accident Information Model (MAIM). Two studies were used, based on 2516 (1555 men and 961 women) and 1306 (751 men and 575 women) patients, interviewed while attending AE all P<0.001). Patients suffering underfoot accidents are increasingly likely to be female as their age increases. This is true both for ‘fracture’ and ‘non-fracture’ accidents, and in the latter at least this cannot be due to osteoporosis. We conclude that older people are increasingly likely to suffer fractures in underfoot accidents. Women are more likely to have underfoot accidents, increasingly with advancing age, and this cannot be explained by gender and ageing effects associated with fractures. We believe these data are potentially important for cost-effective targeting of preventative measures.