Did you know approximately one out of two people have scoliosis which is mild and requires no treatment? However, three out of 1000 children require medical attention.
You might not know this but scoliosis is very common around the world.
But what is the cause of scoliosis? Is scoliosis hereditary? Is scoliosis genetic? Why are there so many patients with scoliosis? How is scoliosis inherited?
Is scoliosis genetic or hereditary? No one is sure of the answer. However, one way to put it is that scoliosis is not truly hereditary. However, there are a few scoliosis hereditary factors that we can take into account and are discussed later.
Not to wait further, let’s see, is scoliosis genetic or is it hereditary?
Is Scoliosis Hereditary
Is scoliosis hereditary? Before we answer your query, you should know what the term heredity means.
So, what is a hereditary disease?
Learn it an easy way, hereditary diseases are those that pass onto you from your parents.
The body consists of chromosomes that we inherit from our parents and our genes define our trait. But in the case of hereditary diseases, it is the mutated genes in your chromosomes that pass from one generation to the next.
However, if your kid is diagnosed with scoliosis there is no need to blame yourself for passing it to your child. It all happens naturally.
Hopefully, your concept about the hereditary disease is now clear. But the question remains the same, is scoliosis hereditary? If yes, then what are the scoliosis hereditary causes and factors?
Let’s find out!
What Are the Scoliosis Hereditary Factors?
As we already mentioned, scoliosis is not entirely hereditary. This means that there are many other causes of scoliosis as well.
However, according to the stats, 70 to 80% of the time scoliosis is idiopathic, that is, the reason is not known. This is one reason that speaks for a strong scoliosis genetic association.
This is because any other disease in your body will also present with its signs and symptoms.
So, if you notice an unusual curve in the spine but no true signs of other diseases, chances are your genes are predisposed to the mutated genes of your parents.
On the other hand, if both your parents have a normal spine but your spine has a curve, you don’t need to worry as they might be recessive carriers, or you might have another unknown cause.
Note: An unknown cause doesn’t instantly lead you to hereditary scoliosis as a diagnosis. There are also some other idiopathic causes resulting in scoliosis in some patients.
Can scoliosis be genetic? What are the genetic factors leading to scoliosis? Let’s figure it out!
Is Scoliosis Genetic
Now the question arises, is scoliosis genetically inherited? Is scoliosis a genetic condition?
Before we answer, let’s quickly learn the difference between heredity and genetics. The difference between the two is quite simple.
Heredity means you inherit a trait from your parents. And genetic means the genes get affected due to any environmental or internal reason.
So is scoliosis genetic?
Whether scoliosis is hereditary or genetic, the answer to that is still confusing. This is because it is impossible to find out one cause or single-gene mutant leading to scoliosis.
In simple words, according to the researches, gene mutation is one of the reasons for the idiopathic cause of scoliosis. So yes, scoliosis does have a genetic cause!
Moreover, researchers say that scoliosis is more common in girls than boys again due to an unknown reason. However, if you know genetics, you would get the hint of the genetic link here.
This is one of the most important scoliosis hereditary factors. And this is why you will mostly see female scoliosis patients whenever you visit a chiropractor.
Note: However, it is surprising to note that at times the children of affected parents do not inherit scoliosis. And sometimes, the patients with scoliosis have no other family member with scoliosis.
Other Scoliosis Genetic Factors
Even if it’s not hereditary and no genetic factor is involved, scoliosis can still run in families. And one scoliosis patient whose parents are not affected might pass it into the next generation.
This is because family members not only have similar genes but several other factors connect them. For instance, the same diet, lifestyle, stress, similar environment, body posture, etc can mutate the genes.
Besides, some environmental factors are also responsible for influencing the genes that increase or decrease the risk of scoliosis.
So what are the scoliosis genetic factors?
It’s pretty much clear from our discussion that scoliosis is a mysterious condition, and there is no one reason for its development.
Many theories support the scoliosis genetic inheritance. Besides, children of scoliotic parents have more risk of developing scoliosis at some point in life.
So we finally have our answer to the query, that is, is scoliosis genetic? And the answer is yes!
Now as we know that there are other causes of scoliosis as well. However, most of the time it starts showing up later in teens or pre-puberty age. Whatever the reason is, almost 80% of the time, it arises without any cause.
What Is Scoliosis Genetic Inheritance?
Following are a few genes that might get mutated in scoliosis and pass onto you by your parents;
- Nerve fiber elasticity
- Bone density
- Tissues
- And the genes related to joint hypermobility.
Is scoliosis a genetic disorder?
It’s uncertain as of now, but one thing is for sure that one in four patients has at least one more family member with scoliosis. This shows a strong familial scoliosis association.
In fact, in some cases, it occurs in one twin and not the other, which again puts us in doubt whether scoliosis is genetically inherited or not.
Because if it does, then how come one twin inherited the genes and not the other?
This is why it is important to learn the scoliosis genetic inheritance and everything about scoliosis, considering how common and mysterious this disease is!
Note: Scoliosis genetic test is an excellent way to predict the progression of scoliosis in low-risk children. The experts take saliva as a sample for DNA testing and evaluate the 53 genetic markers which give accurate results.
FAQs
The answer to this question is very uncertain. Scoliosis is neither purely hereditary nor genetic. Is scoliosis hereditary or is it genetic? The research is still going on and soon we will have a definite answer.
Scoliosis is NOT contagious. Though yes, there are a few environmental factors that influence our genes which can then result in scoliosis.
Conclusion
So is scoliosis hereditary or Is it genetic?
Whether there is a genetic link with scoliosis or not, it is still a matter of concern. However, one thing is for sure, scoliosis is familial.
Multiple factors are responsible for gene mutation and scoliosis’s hereditary nature. Most common being the familial and genetic predisposition.
This means that scoliosis has other causes as well, and you don’t necessarily inherit scoliosis from your parents or first-degree relatives.