Kids with poor posture during reading and writing suffer from both myopia and scoliosis: Study

A new study published in the journal of Frontiers in Pediatrics showed that adolescents with poor posture during reading and writing are more likely to suffer from both myopia and scoliosis.

Improper reading/writing postures during near-work activities may be the cause of both myopia and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), two seemingly separate but mechanistically related health problems that affect Chinese adolescents as they make the crucial transition to middle school, according to new research.

Thus, this study examined the epidemiological relationship between myopia and scoliosis, specifically assess the synergistic effects of poor reading/writing postures on these conditions. This was done in light of the growing co-prevalence of myopia and scoliosis among Chinese adolescents, as well as the possibility that prolonged poor reading/writing postures could be a shared risk factor that contributes to onset, progression, and comorbidity.

For this study adolescents in Shanghai's junior middle schools, ages 11 to 15, made up the research population. Standardized scoliosis screening, thorough eye exams, and structured questionnaires measuring behavioral and demographic risk factors were performed on each participant.

A total of 9,583 middle school pupils (mean age 12.59 ± 1.17 years) participated in this study. The incidence of scoliosis was 1.7%, whereas the overall prevalence of myopia was 77.6%.

Interestingly, 87.2% of the cohort with scoliosis also had myopia, whereas the group without scoliosis had 77.4%. Males had a 1.0% dual-disease comorbidity rate, while females had a 2.1% rate.

Poor reading/writing postures (OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.02–1.34) and scoliosis screening positive (OR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.09–2.76) were shown to be substantially linked to an elevated risk of myopia, according to multivariable logistic regression analysis.

On the other hand, myopia showed a reciprocal relationship with increased susceptibility to scoliosis (OR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.09–2.75). Comorbidity for dual-disease patients was favorably connected with female sex and increasing school grade.

When compared to sporadic practice, the systematic use of teacher-mediated posture monitoring (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.45–0.97) and postural breaks after 30-minute near-work intervals (OR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.46–0.91) significantly decreased the incidence of comorbidity. Overall, adolescent myopia and scoliosis are significantly correlated, and one modifiable risk factor that has been found to be shared by both conditions is non-ergonomic reading and writing postures.

Source:

Wang, Y., Yang, D., Zhang, F., Qi, W., Lu, Q., Wu, H., & Luo, C. (2025). Analysis of the association between reading and writing postures and comorbidity of myopia and scoliosis in junior middle school students. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 13(1576575). https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2025.1576575