ArticleAnnals of occupational and environmental medicine2017
Comparison of facet joint degeneration in firefighters and hospital office workers.
Article in Annals of occupational and environmental medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Non-cancer health risks in firefighters: a systematic review.Epidemiology and health · 2022Pooled it
- Lumbar Superior Articular Process-Pedicle Impingement, a Previously Unrecognized Pathological Cause of Low Back Pain: A Case Report.NMC case report journal · 2026Article
- Animal Models of Intervertebral Disc Diseases: Advantages, Limitations, and Future Directions.Neurology international · 2024Review
- An overview of compensated work-related injuries among Korean firefighters from 2010 to 2015.Annals of occupational and environmental medicine · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere are few published studies on the relationship between occupational lumbar load and facet joint degeneration (FJD). This cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the effect of physical lumbar load on FJD by comparing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of firefighters (FFs) and hospital office workers (HOWs).
methodsWe randomly sampled 341 male FFs and 80 male HOWs by age stratification. A questionnaire and clinical examination, including MRI of the lumbar spine (T12-S1), were conducted. FJD was diagnosed and graded by using the classification of Pathria et al., and reclassified into two groups as follows: no FJD (grade 0) and FJD (grades 1, 2, and 3). The prevalence of FJD was analyzed according to occupational group.
resultsThe prevalence of FJD ranged from 31% (L1-L2) to 75% (L4-L5) in the FFs, and from 18% (L1-L2) to 69% (L4-L5) in the HOWs. After adjustment for age, body mass index, and frequency of physical exercise, the adjusted odds ratios (OR) for FJD in the FFs were significantly higher than those in the HOWs at all lumbar spinal levels, except for L3-L4 (L1-L2: OR, 2.644; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.317-5.310; L2-L3: OR, 2.285; 95% CI, 1.304-4.006; L4-L5: OR, 1.918; 95% CI, 1.037-3.544; L5-S1: OR, 1.811; 95% CI, 1.031-3.181).
conclusionThis study shows that FFs exhibit a greater likelihood of having FJD than HOWs after controlling for other risk factors of FJD. This suggests that the physical occupational demands of FFs affect their risk of developing FJD.
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Registered trials
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.