Cervical kyphosis in asymptomatic populations: incidence, risk factors, and its relationship with health-related quality of life

Abstract Background Cervical kyphosis has been pointed out in asymptomatic populations. The purposes of this study were (1) to investigate the incidence of cervical kyphosis in asymptomatic populations, (2) to identify risk factors related to cervical kyphosis, and (3) to assess the relationship between cervical kyphosis and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Methods A cohort of 235 asymptomatic volunteers’ records was retrospectively analyzed. Radiographic parameters of the coronal and sagittal planes were measured in the full-length spine x-ray. All patients were classified into two groups based on the cervical lordosis angle: cervical lordosis (CL) and cervical kyphosis (CK). HRQOL was evaluated by EQ-5D and SF-36 (PCS and MCS) questionnaires. Results CK was observed in 90 of 235 (38.3%) participants. There was a significant difference with regard to age between volunteers with CK and CL (32.23 ± 8.12 vs. 42.12 ± 6.14, p