Comparison of breath quality in COVID-19 patients with kyphosis and without kyphosis

One of the problems caused by COVID-19 is decreased lung function and muscle weakness. Excessive increase in the curvature of the thoracic spine is known as a kyphosis deformity. The purpose of this study was to compare the quality of breathing in COVID-19 patients with that of individuals with and without kyphosis.

This study was a causal-comparative study. The statistical population of this study consisted of individuals aged 18 to 30 years old from the city of Urmia in 2021. Of this population, 30 individuals were selected as a group with kyphosis and 30 individuals without kyphosis according to the inclusion criteria. The respiratory quality of the two groups was measured with the St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire, and the circumference of the thoracic arch was determined with a flexible ruler. Data analysis was performed with SPSS version 25 using the independent t-test.

The mean scores of individual data, including age, height, and weight, were obtained at 24.50±3.64 years, 164.07±4.87 cm, and 66.07±9.54 kg in the group with kyphosis and 23.57±3.91 years, 163.20±4.77 cm, and 64.37±10.96 kg in the group without kyphosis, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups when comparing scores for pulmonary symptoms (P=0.83), activity (P=0.69), social and psychological impact (P=0.71), and total questionnaire score (P=0.65).

Respiratory physical, psychological, and social complications occurred in both groups with and without kyphosis. Although the complications were more severe in individuals with kyphosis, they were not significantly different from those in the group without kyphosis. It is possible that conducting similar studies examining the lung volumes of people with different degrees of kyphosis abnormalities would yield different results.