PREVALENCE OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS AMONG PRIMARY AND SECONDARY GIRLS SCHOOLS OF SIKANDERABAD, KARACHI, PAKISTAN

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Scoliosis is the deviation in the lateral curvature of spine. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of idiopathic scoliosis among the school going female population of Sikanderabad, Karachi, Pakistan between the ages of 11 to 20 years. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional study. STUDY SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS Study was conducted at Sikanderabad, Karachi, Pakistan. Adolescent female population of primary and secondary schools between the ages of 11-20 years were the targeted population. METHOD Data was collected by observation of the posture, palpation of spine and questionnaire. Examination was carried out by dividing the thoracic spine into three segments i-e; upper, middle and lower thoracic spine. Adam's forward bending test was used to assess the three segments of spine and the results were confirmed by using a scoliometer. Data was analyzed by using SPSS version 20. RESULTS The total sample consisted of 226 students. The mean age estimated was 13.61 with ±2.10 and the overall prevalance of idiopathic scoliosis was 21.16%. Lower thoracic region was founded the most affected. CONCLUSION Study confirmed that scoliosis is prevalent in females especially in the lower thoracic region of spine and the mean age group affected is 13.6 1 years.