ArticleAJNR. American journal of neuroradiology2016
Age- and Level-Dependence of Fatty Infiltration in Lumbar Paravertebral Muscles of Healthy Volunteers.
Article in AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 167 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
167 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 241 citations in OpenAlex.
- Fatty infiltration and cross-sectional area as indicators of muscle mass in osteoporosis: a meta-regression study.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- Is fatty infiltration in paraspinal muscles reversible with exercise in people with low back pain? A systematic review.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 · 2023Pooled it
- Role of paraspinal muscle degeneration in the occurrence and recurrence of osteoporotic vertebral fracture: A meta-analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Pooled it
- Aquatic exercise versus standard care on paraspinal muscle morphology and function in chronic low back pain patients: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Digital twin validation and predictive value of delta radiomics based on tabular transformer for synergistic muscle imbalance in lumbar disc degeneration.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 · 2026Article
- Construction of musculoskeletal quantitative model based on deep learning and study of musculoskeletal relationship in patients with osteoporosis.Journal of advanced research · 2026Article
- Sarcopenia, paraspinal muscle degeneration, and bone quality as prognostic factors for adjacent segment degeneration or disease after lumbar fusion: a systematic review and meta-analysis.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 · 2026Article
- Abdominal wall tension after spinal deformity correction compromises postoperative biomechanics and may contribute to proximal junctional kyphosis.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 · 2026Article
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Segmentation of Soft Tissue in the Diagnosis of Chronic Low Back Pain: A Scoping Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Plantar Heel Pain Is Not Associated With Fatty Infiltration of the Abductor Digiti Minimi Muscle on Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study.Journal of foot and ankle research · 2026Observational
- Clinical significance and future applications of standardized imaging parameters for assessing paraspinal muscle fatty infiltration in lumbar degenerative disease: a narrative review.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2026Review
- Fatty infiltration of paraspinal muscles and its association with sagittal spinal malalignment in the general population.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 · 2026Article
- The effect of a multimodal exercise program on paraspinal muscle morphology and clinical outcomes in chronic low back pain.Isokinetics and exercise science · 2026Article
- Chronicity and physical activity levels independently associate with spatial patterns of multifidus fat infiltration in chronic low back pain patients.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 · 2026Article
- Feasibility and Reliability of an Automated Muscle Segmentation Pipeline Linking Thoracic Supine Kyphosis and Trunk Muscle-Fat% on CT.Tomography (Ann Arbor, Mich.) · 2026Article
- Relationship between facet joint osteoarthritis and multifidus fat infiltration in patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Lumbar multifidus muscle morphology on MRI after restorative neurostimulation for chronic low back pain: a single centre case series using the Goutallier classification.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 · 2026Article
- Association of paraspinal and psoas muscle morphology with recurrent lumbar disc herniation: a retrospective case-control study.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 · 2026Article
- The association of lumbar paraspinal muscle size and quality with physical function, disability, and pain in adults with chronic low back pain.JOSPT open · 2026Article
- Paraspinal muscle fatty infiltration is associated with nonunion and cage subsidence after anterolateral lumbar interbody fusion: a level-specific analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
107 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
background and purposeNormative age-related decline in paravertebral muscle quality is important for reference to disease and risk identification in patients. We aimed to establish age- and vertebral level-dependence of paravertebral (multifidus and erector spinae) muscle volume and fat content in healthy adult volunteers. MATERIALS AND
methodsIn this prospective study multifidus and erector spinae fat signal fraction and volume at lumbar levels L1-L5 were measured in 80 healthy volunteers (10 women and men per decade, 20-62 years of age) by 2-point Dixon 3T MR imaging. ANOVA with post hoc Bonferroni correction compared fat signal fraction and volume among subgroups. Pearson and Spearman analysis were used for correlations (P < .05).
resultsFat signal fraction was higher in women (17.8% ± 10.7%) than men (14.7% ± 7.8%; P < .001) and increased with age. Multifidus and erector spinae volume was lower in women (565.4 ± 83.8 cm(3)) than in men (811.6 ± 98.9 cm(3); P < .001) and was age-independent. No differences in fat signal fraction were shown between the right and left paravertebral muscles or among the L1, L2, and L3 lumbar levels. The fat signal fraction was highest at L5 (women, 31.9% ± 9.3%; men, 25.7% ± 8.0%; P < .001). The fat signal fraction at L4 correlated best with total lumbar fat signal fraction (women, r = 0.95; men, r = 0.92, P < .001). Total fat signal fraction was higher in the multifidus compared with erector spinae muscles at L1-L4 for both sexes (P < .001).
conclusionsLumbar paravertebral muscle fat content increases with aging, independent of volume, in healthy volunteers 20-62 years of age. Women, low lumbar levels, and the multifidus muscle are most affected. Further study examining younger and older subjects and the functional impact of fatty infiltrated paravertebral muscles are warranted.
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