Epidemiology Insights: Scoliosis

Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine. It occurs most often during the growth spurt just before puberty. Several diseases such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and other diseases, birth defects, spinal injuries, and genetic conditions lead to the development of Scoliosis.

Epidemiology Insights: Scoliosis

  • According to the American Associations of Neurological Surgeons, approximately, six to nine million people i.e. 2%-3% of the population are suffering from scoliosis in the United States.
  • Scoliosis can develop in infancy or early childhood.
  • The primary age of onset for scoliosis is 10-15 years old
  • Males and females are equally affected by scoliosis
  • Females are eight times more likely to progress to a curve magnitude that requires treatment
  • Every year, scoliosis patients make more than 600,000 visits to private physician offices
  •  Around 30,000 children are fitted with a brace and 38,000 patients undergo spinal fusion surgery
  • Scoliosis is classified as the idiopathic, congenital or neuromuscular scoliosis based on etiology. Idiopathic Scoliosis is the most prevalent form of Scoliosis. Idiopathic Scoliosis accounts for 80% of all Scoliosis cases
  • Majority of the Scoliosis cases are observed among the adolescents