WEDNESDAY, July 28 (HealthDay News) -- People with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) may have perceived mental and physical health that is moderately, albeit significantly, worse than those without the condition, according to twin-based research published in the August issue of Spine.

Mikkel Ø. Andersen, M.D., of Sygehus Lillebaelt in Denmark, and colleagues studied questionnaires completed by 34,944 twins representing 23,204 pairs born between 1931 and 1982 to examine the effect that AIS had on health-related quality of life in this population.

The researchers identified 220 subjects younger than 50 when surveyed as having AIS, for a prevalence of 1.05 percent; in that group, Short Form-12 (SF-12) was calculated in 187 twins. Perceived physical and mental health status calculated from the SF-12 in AIS patients was moderately and significantly worse than in controls, the researchers found.

"We have no information on the severity of scoliosis, neither types of treatment nor the outcome of that treatment, and this is a weakness of this study," the authors write.

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