Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41073603›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Evaluating the readability and quality of AI-generated scoliosis education materials: a comparative analysis of five language models.

Mengchu Zhao, Mi Zhou, Yexi Han, Xiaomei Song, Youbin Zhou, Haoning He

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Mengchu Zhao *Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Mi Zhou *Allied Health & Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia. mi.zhou@mymail.unisa.edu.au.
Yexi Han *Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Liaobu Hospital of Dongguan City, Dongguan, China.
Xiaomei Song *Department of Nursing, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
Youbin Zhou *College of Intelligent Science and Control Engineering, Jinling Institute of Technology, Nanjing, China.
Haoning He *Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. haoning.he@connect.polyu.hk.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The complexity of scoliosis-related terminology and treatment options often hinders patients and caregivers from understanding their choices, making it difficult to make informed decisions. As a result, many patients seek guidance from artificial intelligence (AI) tools. However, AI-generated health content may suffer from low readability, inconsistency, and questionable quality, posing risks of misinformation. This study evaluates the readability and informational quality of scoliosis-related content produced by AI. We evaluated five AI models-ChatGPT-4o, ChatGPT-o1, ChatGPT-o3 mini-high, DeepSeek-V3, and DeepSeek-R1-by querying each on three types of scoliosis: congenital, adolescent idiopathic, and neuromuscular. Readability was assessed using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and FleschKincaid Reading Ease (FKRE), while content quality was evaluated using the DISCERN score. Statistical analyses were performed in R-Studio. Inter-rater reliability was calculated using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). DeepSeek-R1 achieved the lowest FKGL (6.2) and the highest FKRE (64.5), indicating superior readability. In contrast, ChatGPT-o1 and ChatGPT-o3 mini-high scored above FKGL 12.0, requiring college-level reading skills. Despite readability differences, DISCERN scores remained stable across models (~ 50.5/80) with high inter-rater agreement (ICC = 0.85-0.87), suggesting a fair level quality. However, all responses lacked citations, limiting reliability. AI-generated scoliosis education materials vary significantly in readability, with DeepSeek-R1 being the most accessible. Future AI models should enhance readability without compromising information accuracy and integrate real-time citation mechanisms for improved trustworthiness.

Indexed as

Artificial IntelligenceComprehensionLanguagePatient Education as TopicScoliosisAdolescentHumansAI-generated health informationDISCERN scorePatient health literacyReadability assessmentScoliosis

Identifiers

PMID41073603
PMCPMC12513991

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.