Scoliosis associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

This study evaluated the age-related and ambulation-related incidence of scoliosis among boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and the relationship between wheelchair dependency and scoliosis. Charts of 88 DMD boys were reviewed retrospectively. The relationships between age and both wheelchair dependency and scoliosis were graphed as cumulative distributions with increasing patient age. The relationship between ambulation status and scoliosis was analyzed with a stepwise series of chi square analyses, assuming increasing time intervals between wheelchair dependency and scoliosis. Wheelchair dependency and scoliosis were both age-related phenomena. The relationship between ambulation status and scoliosis became significant only after 3.5 years of wheelchair dependency. It should be noted that 24% of boys with scoliosis developed their curves before cessation of ambulation. While development of scoliosis among DMD boys is clearly an age-related phenomenon, its previously assumed relationship to ambulation requires reevaluation.