Comparison of Physical and Psychosocial Characteristics of Pectus Excavatum and Carinatum Patients With Healthy Controls

New York Posture Rating Chart

The rating chart is used to assess 13 areas of the body, based on the assumption that posture is the alignment of the body and its segments. 13 regions (head, neck, shoulder, scapula, upper thoracic, waist, rips, abdomen, hips, knees, legs, feet and toes) are assessed in two different positions (lateral and posterior). A score is allocated to each area according to the position: 5 points to the correct position; 3 points for a slight deviation, and 1 point for a pronounced deviation. Total score is between 18-90 points. higher the points better the postural alignment

Time frame: Baseline time

International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ) in the assessment of physical activity.

The questionnaire interrogates the last 7 days regarding the following activities: (1) Time (minutes) spent for vigorous physical activities (football, basketball, aerobics, or fast bicycling, heavy lifting, carrying loads, etc.), (2) Time (minutes) spent for moderate physical activities (carrying light load, bicycling at a regular pace, folk dances, bowling, tennis etc.), and (3) Time spent for walking and time spent for sitting in a day. Physical activity levels of the participants were classified into low \[600 the metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-minute/week), moderate (600 to 3000 MET minute/week), and high (\> 3000 MET- minute/week) activity groups based on total physical activity scores. higher the points better the physical activity.

Time frame: Baseline time

Extended version of the Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ-E)

The extended version of the musculoskeletal questionnaire is completed by self-administration or face to face interview and provides reliable information on the onset, prevalence and outcomes of musculoskeletal pain in nine body regions (the neck, shoulder, upper back, elbow, wrist/hand, low back, hip/ thigh, knee, ankle/foot). The NMQ-E interrogates ache, pain or discomfort experienced in the nine body parts to date, for the last 12 months, for the last four weeks and on the day of the administration,with binary choice questions (yes or no).The frequency of the answer yes is high and shows us that musculoskeletal pain is high and is a bad score.

Time frame: Baseline time

Flexibility test

bilateral sit-and-reach test: Sitting on the floor or a mat, legs straight and feet 8-12 inches apart, the person being tested reaches forward with the arms (hands overlapping). The distance of reach is measured in inches using a measuring line marked on the floor

Time frame: Baseline time

Grip strength

The test is conducted with the participant seated on a chair (with a back and no arm rests), with the lower limbs resting on the ground. The shoulder of the limb to be tested remained adducted and neutral for rotation, with the elbow flexed at 90 °, the forearm neutral and wrist extension between 0 and 30 ° with 0-15 degrees of ulnar deviation. During the test, constant verbal encouragement was given to the participants to use their maximum strength. The test is repeated three times to obtain the mean.

Time frame: Baseline time

Abdominal muscle endurance

Abdominal muscle endurance is measured as the number of correctly completed sit-ups in 30seconds. Sit-ups were performed with the hands placed at the side of the head, knees bent at 90°, and the feet secured by the investigator. A full sit-up is defined as touching the knees with the elbows and returning the shoulders to the ground. A higher number of completed sit-ups indicates greater abdominal muscle endurance.

Time frame: Baseline time

Back strength

Back strength of the participants is measured using a Back-leg-chest dynamometer. The participant was positioned with body erect and knees bent so that the grasping hand rests at proper height. Then, by straightening the knees and lifting the chain of the dynamometer, pulling force is applied on the handle. The body would be inclined forward at an angle of 60 degrees for the measurement of back strength

Time frame: Baseline time

Social Appearance Anxiety Scale

The scale a 16-item measure, was developed to assess the respondent's anxiety surrounding situations in which one's appearance may be evaluated. Response options for each item range from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely). The total score is calculated by summing across all items, after reverse coding the first item. Scores range from 16 to 80, with higher scores indicating greater fear

Time frame: Baseline time

Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL),

QoL was measured with one of the three age-appropriate versions (5-7, 8-12, 13-18 years). This scale measures children's perceptions and reflects their concerns on the dimensions of physical health (8 items) and psychosocial health, the latter comprising the subdimensions of emotional functioning (5 items), social functioning (5 items) and school functioning (5 items). The overall QoL score is obtained by adding up the scores for all dimensions. Children were asked to indicate on a 3-point (5-7 year version) or 5-point (8 years and older versions) Likert scale to what extent they had experienced difficulties regarding these dimensions over the last month (0 = never, 1 = almost never, 2 = sometimes, 3 = often, 4 = almost always). The answers were reverse-scored and rescaled to a 0-100 scale (0 = 100, 1 = 75, 2 = 50, 3 = 25, 4 = 0). A score of 100 represents the best possible QoL, a score of 0 the worst.

Time frame: Baseline time