Nash and colleagues decided to do something about this situation. Additional work of real merit on reducing the risk from x-rays for scoliosis patients has been done by Gray, Hoffman, and Peterson at the Mayo Clinic. They regard scoliosis as a relatively common condition. However, a major determinant of the prevalence reported is the degree of spine curvature used to diagnose scoliosis. The disease is more prevalent in women than in men.
Girls require treatment more often than boys.
Once detected, scoliosis requires periodic x-ray monitoring of the spine, especially during adolescence, when the bones are growing at an accelerated rate. The times of breast development and menarche are clinically important because they indicate that the growth spurt has begun or will begin soon. Patients commonly receive anteroposterior and lateral spinal x-rays to monitor the progression of spinal curvature and the effect of treatment. This study was done in Hennepin County, in the State of Minnesota. The study population consisted of 1,030 women with a confirmed diagnosis of scoliosis or kyphosis who were seen in one of three hospitals or in one clinic in Minneapolis-St.