Abstract

Introduction.  Abnormally high quadriceps angle (Q-angle) has been reported as one of the main purported causes of patella-femoral problems. The knowledge and measurement of Q-angle is thus highly important in clinical evaluation of knee function. This study was designed to investigate the age distribution of high Q-angle and the effect of age with Q-angle in a selected Nigerian population.
Materials and Method. The participants were four hundred, apparently healthy volunteers (200 males, 200 females) aged between 9-50 years, who were classified into pre-puberty, adolescent, young adult and adult age groups. Their Q-angles were assessed from their dominant limbs in supine lying position. Q-angles were then classified as high and normal using the average values for male and female as reported in the literature. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean, range, standard deviation and inferential statistics of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi square.
Results.  23.25% and 44.5% of the entire participants and female sub-population had incidence of high Q-angle respectively. 15%, 18%, 26%, and 34% of the pre-puberty, adolescent, young adult and adult sub-populations presented with high Q-angles respectively. ANOVA did not show any significant difference in Q-angle among the four groups while a significant association (P < 0.05) between age group and class of Q-angle was obtained with Chi square.
Conclusion. Selected female Nigerians presented with higher incidence of high Q-angle which appears to increase from younger to older ages.