Trends in the Prevalence of Lumbar Disc Degeneration in Young Men with Low Back Pain over the Past Two Decades: A Single-Institution, MRI-Based Study

• Published in: Journal of Korean Society of Spine Surgery Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 91 - 97
• Main Authors: Kim, Geon Jung, Kim, Yong Min, Kang, Minwook, Lee, Dong Hwan, Kim, In Hee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 대한척추외과학회 01.09.2023
• Subjects: 정형외과학
• ISSN: 2093-4378; 2093-4386
• DOI: 10.4184/jkss.2023.30.3.91

Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate trends in the prevalence of lumbar spine disc degeneration in young men with low back pain over the past two decades using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. Summary of Literature Review: There have been no reports regarding trends in the prevalence of lumbar disc degeneration among young Korean men with low back pain. Materials and Methods: This study reviewed lumbar spine MRI scans conducted between 2002 and 2022 on young male adults (aged 20-40 years) with low back pain. In total, 9,072 MRI scans were assessed by radiologists and two orthopedic surgeons. The prevalence of lumbar disc degeneration was calculated for each decade, and the chi-square test was used to compare prevalence rates between the two decades. Results: Among young male patients with low back pain, the prevalence of lumbar disc degeneration was found to be 79.7%. The most frequent observation was disc bulging (47.8%), followed by disc protrusion (33.3%), disc extrusion (18.5%), and disc sequestration (0.4%). The prevalence of lumbar disc degeneration showed a statistically significant increase, rising from 78.0% during the period of 2002-2012 to 81.2% from 2013 to 2022 (p<0.001). Conclusions: The findings of this study reveal a noteworthy rise in the occurrence of lumbar spine disc degeneration among young men experiencing low back pain throughout the previous two decades. KCI Citation Count: 0