School-Based Scoliosis Screening Among Children and Adolescents - Wusu City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, January 2026.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS TOPIC?: School-based scoliosis screening can identify children needing further evaluation and is increasingly promoted nationally, yet real-world screening evidence from multi-ethnic populations in northwestern China remains limited.

WHAT IS ADDED BY THIS REPORT?: In a real-world school screening program in Wusu City, northern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, that included 18,631 students, the artificial intelligence-assisted screen-positive rate was 5.36%, whereas the final screen-positive rate after specialist review was 2.62%. Age was the most consistent signal, with positivity highest in junior and senior high school (P for trend <0.001). However, only 24.59% of final screen-positive students completed radiography, among whom 62.50% had a Cobb angle ≥10°.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE?: In resource-limited settings in northwestern China, priority referral and follow-up mechanisms targeting junior and senior high school students are needed to translate front-end screening into definitive evaluation and management.