title: [Screening for scoliosis in western Galilee schools].
abstract: Scoliosis screening is still under debate. It is generally agreed that it is not cost-effective, but some still favor it as integral to preventive medicine. Among 2940 school children, aged 9 - 13, from several Moslem-Arab villages in the western Galilee, 55 (1.9%) were found to have some deformity on physical examination and were referred for spinal X-ray. Of these, 24 were X-rayed and in 20 of them there was a scoliosis of more than 7 degrees. The prevalence of in-family marriage in those with deformities was 31%, not significantly different from the 35% found in their communities. Using the worst-case analysis, the Moslem-Arab population of western Galilee cannot be regarded as a population at risk for scoliosis. Considering the poor cooperation of the parents with further investigation, we conclude that scoliosis screening should not be performed in this community.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, Beilinson Medical Center, Nahariya.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: David
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jamal
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soudry
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D018912:Arabs; D002648:Child; D003241:Consanguinity; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008403:Mass Screening; D010808:Physical Examination; D015995:Prevalence; D011859:Radiography; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013131:Spine / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging