Abstract

By analyzing data from NHANES, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence, characteristics, and associated factors of plantar heel pain in Americans aged 20 or above. Plantar heel pain is a prevalent problem that affects a substantial number of adults and significantly impairing their quality of life. To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of plantar heel pain, exploring the associated risk factors. This is a cross-sectional study. We analyzed data from 4957 individuals aged 20 or above who participated in the 2009–2010 NHANES. Among the total 4957 US participants ≥ 20 years of age, 549 (11.1%) participants reported plantar heel pain. There was a significant difference in distribution between female and male (p = 0.002). Furthermore, participants aged between 50 and 65 years had the highest plantar heel pain prevalence of 14.5% among the entire population, however, among the female participants, those aged ≥ 65 years demonstrated the highest prevalence (19.8%) of plantar heel pain. In addition, compared to those with BMI < 25 kg/m2, BMI with 25–30 kg/m2 had 1.5-fold risk of plantar heel pain(OR:1.50, 95%CI:1.10–2.05), while BMI with 30–35 kg/m2 had a 2.1-fold higher risk and those with BMI ≧ 35 kg/m2 had a 2.7-fold risk to experience plantar heel pain. Age, BMI, female (OR:1.35, 95%CI:1.07–1.70), kidney stones history (OR:1.52, 95%CI:1.09–2.11), hypertension (OR:1.54, 95%CI:1.20–1.96) and osteoporosis (OR:1.75, 95%CI:1.10–2.78) were independent risk factors for plantar heel pain. Further subgroup analysis indicated that osteoporosis is the independent risk factor for women (OR:2.00, 95%CI:1.19–3.37) but not men (OR:0.65, 95%CI:0.15–2.86) for plantar heel pain. Our findings might offer evidences for the prevention and treatment of plantar heel pain. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.