Health-related quality of life of patients with postural kyphosis compared to spinal deformities in adolescence: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: Postural kyphosis (PK) is a poor postural habit in which a patient\'s back appears abnormally rounded. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life of patients with PK compared with those with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and Scheuermann kyphosis (SK) patients.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of adolescents with PK who were admitted to our clinic between January 2020 and June 2022 was compared with that of patients with AIS and SK who were admitted during the same period by using the Scoliosis Research Society-22 (SRS-22) questionnaire. All patients were asked to complete the SRS-22 questionnaire before the radiological evaluation. In the radiological evaluation, the sagittal and coronal deformities of the patients were measured.

RESULTS: In total, 126 patients with PK were compared with age and sex-matched AIS patients and 42 SK patients. The mean SRS-22 function score of the PK group was 4.72±0.3 while it was 4.38±0.6 (p=0.015) in SK patients and it was 4.34±0.6 (p˂0.001) in AIS patients. The mean SRS-22 pain scores of PK patients was 4.18±0.7. The mean pain score was 3.68±0.8 (p=0.033) in the SK group and 3.6±0.8 (p=0.010) in the AIS group. Adolescents with PK perceived less pain than those with AIS or SK. The scores for the other domains of SRS-22 revealed no differences.

CONCLUSION: HRQoL of patients with PK is reduced, similar to that of patients with common structural spine deformities. Recognizing the effects of PK on the HRQoL in adolescents can help physicians to treat these patients.