Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25772090›Full record

ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2015

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene polymorphisms are associated with baseline disability but not long-term treatment outcome in patients with chronic low back pain.

Ahmad Omair, Anne F Mannion, Marit Holden, Jeremy Fairbank, Benedicte A Lie, Olle Hägg, Peter Fritzell, Jens I Brox

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In one paragraph

Article in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
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

10 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Challenges and opportunities for omics-based precision medicine in chronic low back pain.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. HUMAN STUDYExperimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.) · 2022
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
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

8 authors at 7 institutions in 4 countries.

Ahmad OmairDepartment of Orthopaedics, Oslo University Hospital-Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway. dr.ahmad.omair@gmail.com.
Anne F MannionDepartment of Research and Development, Spine Center Division, Schulthess Klinik, Zurich, Switzerland.
Marit HoldenNorwegian Computing Centre, Blindern, Oslo, Norway.
Jeremy FairbankNuffield Orthopaedic Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Benedicte A LieDepartment of Medical Genetics, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital-Ullevål, Oslo, Norway.
Olle HäggSpine Center Göteborg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Peter FritzellNeuro-ortopedic Center, Länssjukhuset Ryhov, Jönköping, Sweden.
Jens I BroxDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
University of Oslo · NONorwegian Computing Center · NONuffield Orthopaedic Centre · GBOslo University Hospital · NORegion Jönköpings län · SESchulthess-Klinik · CHSpine Center Göteborg · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo examine the association between COMT and OPRM1 gene polymorphisms and pain and disability at baseline and long-term follow-up in patients treated for chronic low back pain (LBP).

methods371 of 767 unrelated European patients recruited from four randomised trials underwent genetic analyses at mean 11.4 years follow-up. 274 patients had fusion and 97 had non-operative treatment. Association analyses included disability, pain, five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the COMT gene, and one SNP in the OPRM1 gene. Analyses were adjusted for age, gender, smoking, analgesics and treatment.

resultsDisability at baseline was significantly associated with COMT SNPs rs4818 (p = 0.02), rs6269 (p = 0.007), rs4633 (p = 0.04) rs2075507 (p = 0.009), two haplotypes (p < 0.002), age, gender and smoking (p ≤ 0.002). No significant associations with clinical variables were observed for OPRM1, or for COMT at long-term follow-up.

conclusionsResults suggest that genetic factors are partly responsible for the variation in disability levels in patients presenting with chronic LBP being considered for surgery; in contrast, genetics has no influence on the long-term outcome of treatment.

Indexed as

Low Back PainAdolescentAdultAgedCatechol O-MethyltransferaseChronic DiseaseCohort StudiesFemaleGenetic Association StudiesGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseHumansMaleMiddle AgedPolymorphism, Single NucleotideReceptors, Opioid, muTreatment OutcomeCatechol O-MethyltransferaseOPRM1 protein, humanReceptors, Opioid, muCatechol-O-methyltransferaseChronic low back painLumbar fusionModulationPain perceptionSingle nucleotide polymorphism

Identifiers

PMID25772090
OpenAlexW2032997931

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.