Physical and mental health in young adults operated on for idiopathic scoliosis

Abstract

In this study, physical and mental health were investigated in 30 young adults who were operated on for idiopathic scoliosis, 2–3 years after surgery, and the results compared to an age- and sex-matched control group of 40 individuals. We used the short form of the 36 health survey (SF-36 version 1.2), which is a 36-item questionnaire measuring health functioning on eight scales: physical functioning, role limitations due to physical functioning, bodily pain, general health perceptions, vitality, social functioning, emotional role limitation, and general mental health. The patient scores indicated lower than the controls in physical health but higher in mental health. Otherwise, there were no significant differences between the two groups. Overall, this study showed that young adults operated on for idiopathic scoliosis were satisfied, and that their mental health was even better than the normal group, but their physical health was somewhat poorer. Thus, the surgical procedure was well tolerated and had not traumatized the patient.