Prevalence of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Purpose: This study is a large-scale screening supported by government departments to investigate the prevalence of scoliosis in Shijiazhuang. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all students underwent body posture evaluation and the Adam’s forward flexure test to examine the back, and also underwent radiographic evaluation when scoliosis was suspected. Results: In total, 181,935 students participated in the research, of which 289 students were diagnosed with scoliosis, with a prevalence of 2.5%, significantly higher in female (3.01%) than in male children (1.63%) (P < 0.001). Most of the patients (79.5%) had a Cobb angle from 10° to 19°.The mean Cobb angle of scoliosis was positively associated with age. The prevalence of a single curve (75.4%) was significantly higher than double curves (23.2%) and triple curves (1.38%). The percentage of scoliosis in which the thoracolumbar segment was involved (46.4%) was significantly higher than that of the single thoracic scoliosis (31.8%) and single lumbar scoliosis (21.8%). Conclusions: The prevalence of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in XXX was high (2.50%). It is necessary to strengthen the education of adolescent scoliosis, and improve the awareness and attention of social to scoliosis. Level of Evidence: IV.