Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29379999›Full record

ArticleSkeletal radiology2018

Lumbar paraspinal muscle fat infiltration is independently associated with sex, age, and inter-vertebral disc degeneration in symptomatic patients.

Julio Urrutia, Pablo Besa, Daniel Lobos, Mauricio Campos, Cristobal Arrieta, Marcelo Andia, Sergio Uribe

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Skeletal radiology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
68citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
5.9field-weighted citation impact, top 3% 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

68 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 104 citations in OpenAlex.

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  4. Article
  5. A multicenter study on the prediction model for chronic low back pain after lumbar decompression surgery in patients with diabetes mellitus: integration of metabolic and paraspinal muscle features.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 · 2026
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  8. Comparison of paravertebral muscle thickness and fatty infiltration in patients with osteoporosis, osteopenia and normal bone mineral density: a single-blind retrospective controlled trial.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
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  10. Burden of low-back pain disease caused by occupational ergonomic factors in China from 1990 to 2021 and forecast for 2035: a systematic analysis and comparison with global trends.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
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8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Julio UrrutiaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Marcoleta 352, Santiago, Chile. jurrutia@med.puc.cl.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1757-1144
Pablo BesaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Marcoleta 352, Santiago, Chile.
Daniel LobosDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Marcoleta 352, Santiago, Chile.
Mauricio CamposDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Marcoleta 352, Santiago, Chile.
Cristobal ArrietaBiomedical Imaging Center, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Marcelo AndiaBiomedical Imaging Center, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Sergio UribeBiomedical Imaging Center, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile · CL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo determine the association of paraspinal muscles and psoas relative cross-sectional area (RCSA) and fat signal fraction (FSF) with sex, age, and intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) in symptomatic patients.

methodsWe retrospectively evaluated 80 adult patients with spinal symptoms using T2-weighted magnetic resonance images. We determined RCSA and FSF of the paraspinal muscles (erector spinae and multifidus) and psoas from L1-L2 to L5-S1; we determined IDD using the Pfirrmann classification. We compared differences in muscle RCSA and FSF based on sex and IDD, and we correlated age and IDD with RCSA and FSF. Using multivariate linear regression analyses, we determined the impact of sex, age, and IDD on RCSA and FSF.

resultsMen exhibited larger psoas RCSA but not larger paraspinal muscles RCSA than women. Women had larger FSF in the paraspinal muscles and psoas. Increasing IDD was associated with larger FSF if ≥2 Pfirrmann grades were observed. IDD correlated with FSF of the paraspinal muscles, and age correlated with FSF of the paraspinal muscles and psoas. IDD was less consistently correlated with RCSA, but age correlated negatively with RCSA of all three muscles. Linear regression analyses demonstrated that sex, age, and IDD were each independently associated with FSF of the paraspinal muscles; additionally, sex and age, but not IDD, were associated with psoas FSF. RCSA was less consistently influenced by these three variables.

conclusionsSex, age, and IDD are independently associated with paraspinal muscles FSF; only sex and age influence psoas FSF.

Indexed as

Age FactorsCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansIntervertebral Disc DegenerationLumbar VertebraeMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedParaspinal MusclesRetrospective StudiesSex FactorsAging spineFat infiltration, cross-sectional areaIntervertebral disc degenerationParaspinal muscles

Identifiers

PMID29379999
OpenAlexW2791309329

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.