Prevalence of Scoliosis among High School Students.
This study aimed to survey the prevalence of scoliosis in Thai high school students. Physical therapists assessed the postural alignment in three planes during standing position by observation, palpation, andAdam lforward bending test. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square analysis. Three hundred and seventy-four high school students (297 males and 77 females) were recruited from three schools in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area. The prevalence of scoliosis was 22.7%. A significant difference was observed between sex and scoliosis prevalence (chi2 = 6.73, p<0.05) with a prevalence ratio (female:male) of 1.70. A significant difference of scoliosis prevalence wasfound between school 1 andschool 3 (chi2 = 4.33, p<0.05) with a ratio of 1.74. Most scoliosis levels were found at the thoracolumbar level. The assessments of 84.7% for waist form, 76.5% for scapular border and 71.8% for thoracic scoliosis were the most common anomaly of postural alignment in the scoliosis group. The prevalence of scoliosis infemales was higher than in males at a ratio of 1.70. A significant difference was revealed among schools that might be affected by environmentalfactors.