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The sunlight exposure questionnaire for use in the Chinese population was constructed based on extensive literature review and item suitability for measuring life-time exposure. The content validity index (CVI) was derived from ratings by, an expert panel to assess the item content and relevance. 650 population-based Chinese women completed the sunlight exposure questionnaire through telephone interview. To assess the questionnaire reliability, 94 women were re-interviewed after 2 weeks. 98.4% of the sunlight exposure questionnaire items were found to have valid CVI (>0.83). The Scree plot and the Principal Components Factor Analysis showed a two-factor construct was appropriate and no questionnaire item needed to be excluded. The questionnaire also had a good test-retest reliability (ICC: 0.59-0.93; k: 0.51-100). This sunlight exposure questionnaire was found to be adequate for measurement of life-time sunlight exposure among Hong Kong Chinese women [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abnormal anthropometric measurements during the peripubertal growth spurt have been documented in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging studies of the spine have suggested a disproportionate endochondral and membranous ossification in AIS. The present study aimed at investigating whether disproportional ossification and skeletal growth occurred in the peripheral bone of AIS patients using the radius as the target bone. Skeletally mature AIS girls with different severity ( n = 290) and age-matched control healthy girls ( n = 80) were recruited. The anthropometric parameters were recorded. The midshaft of non-dominant radius was scanned with peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) and the radius diameter was calculated from the cross-sectional area. Radius dimension ratio was derived from the ratio of radius diameter to radius length. The anthropometric parameters were compared between AIS and control with adjustment for age. The radius dimension ratio was further correlated with curve severity in AIS girls using Pearson’s correlation test. The analysis showed that the arm span and radius length were slightly longer in AIS girls. The BMI of AIS girls was significantly lower than the controls. The radius dimension ratio in severe AIS girls was significantly lower than the controls and the ratio of AIS girls correlated with the curve severity ( r = −0.120; p = 0.039). The abnormal radius dimension ratio supported the presence of systemic growth abnormalities in AIS. Disproportional endochondral-membranous ossification could explain for the observation. The observation of the association of radius dimension ratio with curve severity provides an important potentially clinically measurable parameter for further longitudinal studies on the prognostication of curve progression in AIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]