Zou JoJo Yiying, Li Tung, Wong Man Sang
Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China.
PLoS One. 2025 Jun 25;20(6):e0325383. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325383. eCollection 2025.
Orthotic treatment is commonly used as a non-surgical intervention for managing moderate adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Although prior studies have evaluated various factors influencing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the patients with AIS, the association between trunk appearance perception and HRQoL, including potential gender differences, remains insufficiently defined. This study investigated gender differences in trunk appearance perception and its relationship with QoL among the patients with moderate AIS undergoing orthotic treatment.
Patients with moderate AIS undergoing orthotic treatment were included, and HRQoL evaluations were conducted before treatment, as well as one and seven months after the initiation of orthotic treatment. The evaluation tools included the Trunk Appearance Perception Scale (TAPS), Scoliosis Research Society-22r (SRS-22r), and Brace Questionnaire (BrQ). The study time points were selected to capture baseline conditions, initial adaptation, and longer-term treatment effects.
A total of 34 females and 11 males participated in the study. No significant gender differences were observed in global HRQoL, with both groups consistently reporting low self-image and self-esteem. In females, increasing age was negatively correlated with TAPS scores, whereas in males, it showed a positive correlation. For females, higher compliance was associated with higher bodily pain scores on the BrQ (ρ = 0.417), indicating reduced pain levels. In contrast, among males, greater compliance was associated with poor trunk appearance perception after seven months (ρ = -0.619). While TAPS was unrelated to SRS-22r and BrQ in females, a more favorable trunk appearance in males was strongly related to better function and self-image scores on the SRS-22r after seven months (ρ = 0.614 and 0.703, respectively).
Trunk appearance perception and overall HRQoL were similar between females and males in this study. However, the score related to self-image was lower than other HRQoL domains.
支具治疗通常作为一种非手术干预手段用于治疗中度青少年特发性脊柱侧凸（AIS）。尽管先前的研究已经评估了影响AIS患者健康相关生活质量（HRQoL）的各种因素，但躯干外观感知与HRQoL之间的关联，包括潜在的性别差异，仍未得到充分明确。本研究调查了接受支具治疗的中度AIS患者在躯干外观感知方面的性别差异及其与生活质量的关系。
纳入接受支具治疗的中度AIS患者，并在治疗前、支具治疗开始后1个月和7个月进行HRQoL评估。评估工具包括躯干外观感知量表（TAPS）、脊柱侧凸研究学会-22r问卷（SRS-22r）和支具问卷（BrQ）。选择这些研究时间点以获取基线状况、初始适应情况和长期治疗效果。
共有34名女性和11名男性参与了本研究。在总体HRQoL方面未观察到显著的性别差异，两组均持续报告自我形象和自尊较低。在女性中，年龄增长与TAPS评分呈负相关，而在男性中则呈正相关。对于女性，更高的依从性与BrQ上更高的身体疼痛评分相关（ρ = 0.417），表明疼痛水平降低。相比之下，在男性中，更高的依从性与7个月后较差的躯干外观感知相关（ρ = -0.619）。虽然在女性中TAPS与SRS-22r和BrQ无关，但在男性中，7个月后更良好的躯干外观与SRS-22r上更好的功能和自我形象评分密切相关（分别为ρ = 0.614和0.703）。
在本研究中，女性和男性在躯干外观感知和总体HRQoL方面相似。然而，与自我形象相关的评分低于其他HRQoL领域。
