The prevalence of scoliosis among adolescents in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis

To systematically evaluate the prevalence of scoliosis in adolescents aged 10–18 years in China, and to provide evidence-based evidence for the early identification, prevention, and management of scoliosis in adolescents.

We searched 7 databases of CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library from January 2000 to June 2024, and included related studies on scoliosis among Chinese adolescents aged 10–18. The quality evaluation criteria of cross-sectional studies recommended by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) were used for literature quality evaluation. Stata 18.0 software was used for statistical analysis.

We finally included 42 studies, involving a total of 1,149,330 subjects from 30 regions. The results showed that the prevalence of scoliosis in Chinese adolescents aged 10–18 years was 1.2% [95%CI (1.1%, 1.4%)]. The results of the subgroup analyses are as follows: ① The prevalence of scoliosis in adolescent women (1.6%) was higher than that in men (1.0%). ② The prevalence of scoliosis in adolescents aged 16–18 (1.3%) was higher than that in adolescents aged 10–15 (1.1%). ③ By region, the prevalence of scoliosis was slightly higher in the North (1.3%) than that in the South (1.2%). ④ According to the time of publication, the prevalence of scoliosis in Chinese adolescents increased from 0.9% during 2000–2015 to 1.6% during 2016–2024. ⑤ According to the degree of the Cobb angle, the curve magnitude was mainly mild (Cobb angle: 10°-19°), and the prevalence rate was 0.7%; the second was moderate (Cobb angle: 20°-39°), with a prevalence of 0.2%.

The prevalence of scoliosis in adolescents aged 10–18 years in China is 1.2%, suggesting that the prevalence may be gradually increasing in recent years. In addition, the degree of scoliosis is mainly mild, and timely intervention and prevention are necessary.