title: Effects of living environment on the postoperative Scoliosis Research Society-24 results in females with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are many factors influencing postoperative health-related quality of life of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients, including the degree of the deformity, culture, differences in geography, rural versus urban living environments, and social factors. The objective of this study was to analyze the significance of geographic factors and their differences influencing the postoperative quality of life in females with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis residing in urban and rural environments, by use of the Polish version of the SRS-24 questionnaire.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty urban and 20 rural postoperative patients with adolescent scoliosis with a minimum 2-year follow-up period after surgery were included in the study. The process of cross-cultural adaptation was performed according to the IQOLA Project.
  
  
  RESULTS
  General results of the Polish SRS-24 equalled 4.1 (SD 0.5) and 4.0 (SD.0.5) in the rural and urban groups of patients, respectively. The 2 groups do not differ in incidence of floor and ceiling effects. The Cronbach's alpha values are excellent for the general result of SRS-24 in urban and rural groups (0.85 and 0.85, respectively). The sub-groups differed significantly in the self-image after surgery domain (p=0.048).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients from the rural group scored higher in the self-image after surgery domain but reported higher pain levels when compared to urban patients. The associations between SRS-24 results and radiographic parameters in the rural group of patients were strong, compared with moderate relations reported in the urban group.
authors: Department of Pediatric Orthopaedics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland. emisterska1@wp.pl
authors: Ewa
authors: E
authors: Misterska
authors: Maciej
authors: M
authors: Głowacki
authors: Sławomir
authors: S
authors: Panek
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Ignyś-O'Byrne
authors: Jakub
authors: J
authors: Głowacki
authors: Iwona
authors: I
authors: Ignyś
authors: Hanna
authors: H
authors: Krauss
authors: Jacek
authors: J
authors: Piątek
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D012955:Societies, Medical; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult