Proceedings of the 31st International Academic Conference, London

HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN ADOLESCENTS WITH MILD SCOLIOSIS

MEI-CHUN CHEUNG, JOANNE YIP, LAI-HING FOK, GARCIA KWOK

Abstract:

Introduction: According to the large population-based retrospective cohort study in Hong Kong, the prevalence of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) by the age of 19 years in Hong Kong is 1.39% for Cobb angle 20° (Luk et al., 2010). AIS are characterized by uneven shoulders, spine curvature and uneven hips. At present, adolescents with mild scoliosis, that is, Cobb angle less than 20° do not receive any intervention in Hong Kong. Some of them are generally followed up by spine surgeon through clinical monitoring and re-examined the degree of curvature every 8-12 months, though they may have high growth potential and risk of curve progression during the age of 10-16 at puberty. Their health-related quality of life is generally overlooked, as compared to AIS. Objective: To characterize the influence of mild scoliosis on health-related quality of life in the community-dwelling female adolescents in Hong Kong Methods: A school pre-screening program in Hong Kong was conducted to examine the prevalence of mild scoliosis during 2012-2015. A total of 545 female adolescents were recruited from several local primary/secondary schools in Hong Kong. The adolescents were divided into two groups matched in terms of age and education: individuals with mild scoliosis (n = 128) who demonstrated positive results in the Adam’s forward bending test and an angle of trunk rotation (ATR) of 3° measured by a scoliometer and normal controls without any demonstrated signs of scoliosis (n = 417). Their health-related quality of life was evaluated by the validated Scoliosis Research Society – 22 (SRS-22) Questionnaire, which consists of 22 items that assess five domains, including Function, Pain, General Self Image and Mental health. Results: Compared with the age-matched adolescents, female with mild scoliosis showed significantly lower self-image (p < 0.002) and marginally poor function (p < 0.023). In particular, they were unhappier with their current lives (p < 0.000) and suffered from more severe level of pain (p < 0.004). Conclusion: Based on the community-dwelling sample in Hong Kong, the results show that health-related quality of life can be impaired in adolescents with mild scoliosis. Therefore, the psychosocial care should be taken into account as a means of improving the management of mild scoliosis.

Keywords: adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, quality of life

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2017.031.016

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