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Original poster

Risky behavior during stair descent for young adults: Differences in men versus women (Research about sex differences you never knew you needed to know)

63 replies

IwantToRetire · 01/08/2023 01:20

Previous research has demonstrated that average injury rate of stair-related falls has a trimodal distribution with a peak for young adults in their 20’s, with women in their 20’s sustaining about 80% more injuries than men of the same age.

The purpose of this study was to quantify young adult behaviors during staircase descent, with the goal of identifying behaviors that increase fall risk on stairs, and to determine if young women are more likely to demonstrate these risky behaviors. Young adults engaged in behaviors that may increase fall risk, including not using the handrail, carrying items, using electronic devices, holding a conversation, and wearing footwear that increases fall risk.

Women demonstrated several behaviors that increase their fall risk relative to men: less likely to use the handrail, more likely to be holding something in their hands, more likely to be engaged in conversation, more likely to wear sandals and heels, and they demonstrated a higher number of co-occurring risky behaviors.

However, women also engaged in behaviors that may be protective of fall risk: less likely to skip steps and more likely to look at the stair tread during transition steps.

Overall, the observed sex-related differences are strengthened by the inclusion of both short and long staircases since similar sex-related effects were observed on both staircases.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0288438

The published article is quite long and so has much more information, but I still couldn't work out why the research had happened.

Risky behavior during stair descent for young adults: Differences in men versus women

Injuries commonly occur on stairs, with high injury rates in young adults, especially young women. High injury rates could result from physiological and/or behavioral differences; this study focuses on behaviors. The purposes of this observational stud...

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0288438

OP posts:
JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 01/08/2023 07:20

Isn't this actually about gender roles rather than sex differences.

Women are socialised/conditioned by the patriarchy to wear high heels, carry handbags, be the primary child carer, be the main housekeeper, etc.

There may also be sex differences to factor in to why women are more likely to be injured on stairs but they aren't covered in the abstract. Things like smaller feet, altered centre of gravity due to pregnancy, large boobs meaning you can't see your feet, osteoporosis, smaller stature etc.

pickledandpuzzled · 01/08/2023 07:13

So men and women demonstrate risky behaviours- men skip steps and don't look, women wear inadequate shoes and don't hold on due to carrying things.

There's no mention of whether women are more likely to be injured from falls where men escape uninjured from a similar fall.

But whichever, maybe all the ROGD girls are just trying to avoid falling on the stairs.

Hardbackwriter · 01/08/2023 07:09

I still couldn't work out why the research had happened

But the abstract you quoted says why - young women are much more likely to be injured on stairs than young men, so they wanted to investigate why. This could then be potentially used for preventative purposes. Isn't that a good thing?

BettyFilous · 01/08/2023 07:07

I live in a Victorian house and some of the houses around here have attic rooms (original) or loft conversions. It’s not uncommon for them to have narrower treads and higher risers. It’s a way of getting loft access in without compromising the landing.

We had knackered stair carpet when we bought this house. It came away from the stairs as I was carrying baby DS2 downstairs in my arms and I slipped. Luckily I fell backwards onto my backside and was able to free an arm to grab the handrail. It still makes me shudder when I think about it.

TeenDivided · 01/08/2023 07:05

... but I still couldn't work out why the research had happened.

I would imagine someone saw the statistic in accident compilation stats and wondered why. Then a researcher got some funding for analysis. It's quite interesting really.

SunThroughTheCloudsAt6am · 01/08/2023 06:57

Well, that's got me suitably annoyed for the day.

And now you point out the maid thing, it all makes total sense - and of course even on other stairs, the maids would be carrying things, and in a long skirt - everything stacked against them!

Little bits of daily patriarchal oppression with serious consequences.

OkImListening · 01/08/2023 06:48

DysmalRadius · 01/08/2023 01:29

I imagine the research was funded by all the women who hopefully put things on the stairs only to watch the rest of the family galloping past said items and then carrying them all up themselves, often falling in the process.

🤣 brilliant!!

MrsTerryPratchett · 01/08/2023 03:42

Lack of light/just candlelight and long skirts and not actually seeing the stairs also contributed.

All I can hear is my Navy family and friends shouting THREE POINTS OF CONTACT at me. We have very steep stairs. Grin

Mothermotherd · 01/08/2023 02:08

IwantToRetire · 01/08/2023 01:49

less likely to use the handrail, more likely to be holding something in their hands, more likely to be engaged in conversation, more likely to wear sandals and heels,

as said above, so busy carrying everyone else's stuff up and down stairs, having to answers irritating questions, whilst being required to wear suitably feminine footwear which are a danger in themselves, let alone on stairs!

Funnily enough I remember one of those tv documentaries about old houses and they talked about how in the 19th century house maids were recorded to have serious injuries from falling down stairs.

But it turned out that at that time there was no guidelines on how deep steps should be or how high each step. And with many house maids living in attics but not being thought important stair up to the attics were too narrow, had very small step width but each step was quite high above each other. So I suppose homeowners / employers just dismissed these accidents as clumsy uneducated women, not that they had put them in a position of danger everyday.

Funny you mention this because I was watching a video about this only a few days ago.
Lack of light/just candlelight and long skirts and not actually seeing the stairs also contributed.

Original poster
IwantToRetire · 01/08/2023 01:49

less likely to use the handrail, more likely to be holding something in their hands, more likely to be engaged in conversation, more likely to wear sandals and heels,

as said above, so busy carrying everyone else's stuff up and down stairs, having to answers irritating questions, whilst being required to wear suitably feminine footwear which are a danger in themselves, let alone on stairs!

Funnily enough I remember one of those tv documentaries about old houses and they talked about how in the 19th century house maids were recorded to have serious injuries from falling down stairs.

But it turned out that at that time there was no guidelines on how deep steps should be or how high each step. And with many house maids living in attics but not being thought important stair up to the attics were too narrow, had very small step width but each step was quite high above each other. So I suppose homeowners / employers just dismissed these accidents as clumsy uneducated women, not that they had put them in a position of danger everyday.

OP posts:
MrsTerryPratchett · 01/08/2023 01:47

more likely to be holding something in their hands

Because men have pockets and every other fucker walks past the stuff on the stairs.

Sorry mum, you were right.

DysmalRadius · 01/08/2023 01:29

I imagine the research was funded by all the women who hopefully put things on the stairs only to watch the rest of the family galloping past said items and then carrying them all up themselves, often falling in the process.

namitynamechange · 01/08/2023 01:23

I did break my leg going falling down the stairs in my mid 20s so there you go!