ArticleGlobal spine journal2018
Degenerative Lumbar Spine Disease: Estimating Global Incidence and Worldwide Volume.
Article in Global spine journal, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 8 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 299 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Decision Making in Degenerative Lumbar Spine: CT vs. MRI
Study of the Efficacy and Tolerance of the B-Dyn Medical Device Compared to a Conventional Bolted Fusion With or Without Cage in the Treatment of Degenerative Lumbar Stenosis, With or Without Grade I Spondylolisthesis on the Degree of Postoperative Functional Disability, Preservation of Mobility and Prevention of the Adjacent Syndrome". Interventional, Prospective, Comparative, Randomized, Non-inferiority, Single Blind, International, Multicenter Clinical Study
A Trial of Platelet Injections for Treatment of Painful Degenerative Disc Disease
Registry for Evaluation of Lumbar Arthrodesis Sagittal alignmEnt: Prospective Observational Study of the Relationship Between Pelvic Parameters, Lumbar Lordosis Mismatch-pelvic Incidence, and Lordosis Ratio vs. Post-surgical Clinical Outcome for Degenerative Disease
Kiphoplasty With Porous Titanium Microspheres for Treatment of Vertebral Osteoporotic Compression Fractures: Perspective Study on Efficacy and Safety
Effect of Topical Tranexamic Acid on Postoperative Drainage in Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (MI-TLIF): A Randomized Controlled Trial
The Impact of Paraspinal Muscle Atrophy in Lumbar Spinal Fusion Outcomes
Thoracic Mobility Versus Hip Mobility Exercises to Core Stabilization in Lumbar Spondylitis
Who cites it
299 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 569 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Role of Electrophysiological Workup in Lumbar Spinal Canal Stenosis (LSCS): A Systematic Review.Spine · 2026Pooled it
- Single level versus multi-level lumbar interbody fusion for lumbar degenerative diseases: a systematic review and meta analysis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Minimally invasive tubular decompression versus traditional open surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Machine Learning and Deep Learning for Diagnosis of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Impact of sarcopenia on outcomes following lumbar spine surgery for degenerative disease: an updated 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 · 2024Pooled it
- The relation of osteoporotic vertebral fractures and spine degeneration on the occurrence of complications: 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 · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of percutaneous cement discoplasty in the management of degenerative spinal diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis.The neuroradiology journal · 2024Pooled it
- Implications of Preoperative Depression for Lumbar Spine Surgery Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2024Pooled it
- Association between gut microbiota and spinal stenosis: a two-sample mendelian randomization study.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Pooled it
- 'It Felt Safe'. Experiences With an Early Cognitive Behavioural Approach After Lumbar Spinal Surgery: A Qualitative Study of Participants' Perspectives.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026Trial
- Prognostic Factors and Treatment Effect Modifiers for Acupuncture Response in Patients with Neurogenic Claudication of Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2026Trial
- Which lumbar spinal stenosis patients will improve with nonsurgical treatment? A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2025Trial
- Safety and efficacy of low-dose esketamine weakly opioidized anesthesia in elderly patients with lumbar spinal stenosis undergoing surgery: a prospective, double-blind randomized controlled trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2025Trial
- Application of RhBMP-2 in Percutaneous Endoscopic Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion.BMC surgery · 2024Trial
- Dural Sac Cross-sectional area change from preoperatively and up to 2 years after decompressive surgery for central lumbar spinal stenosis: investigation of operated levels, data from the NORDSTEN 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 · 2024Trial
- PVMQ score: a novel imaging parameter for indicating lumbar degeneration and prognosis in patients with L4/5 degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis.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
- Evolution of Endoscopic Spine Surgery: Contemporary Advances and Future Directions.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2026Review
- Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion Versus Total Disc Replacement with a Viscoelastic Prosthesis for Single-Level Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease in Young Adults: A Comparative Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Swespine in the literature: a bibliometric analysis of trends and characteristics of publications.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 · 2026Review
239 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
8 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
designMeta-analysis-based calculation.
objectivesLumbar degenerative spine disease (DSD) is a common cause of disability, yet a reliable measure of its global burden does not exist. We sought to quantify the incidence of lumbar DSD to determine the overall worldwide burden of symptomatic lumbar DSD across World Health Organization regions and World Bank income groups.
methodsWe used a meta-analysis to create a single proportion of cases of DSD in patients with low back pain (LBP). Using this information in conjunction with LBP incidence rates, we calculated the global incidence of individuals who have DSD and LBP (ie, their DSD has neurosurgical relevance) based on the Global Burden of Disease 2015 database.
resultsWe found that 266 million individuals (3.63%) worldwide have DSD and LBP each year; the highest and lowest estimated incidences were found in Europe (5.7%) and Africa (2.4%), respectively. Based on population sizes, low- and middle-income countries have 4 times as many cases as high-income countries. Thirty-nine million individuals (0.53%) worldwide were found to have spondylolisthesis, 403 million (5.5%) individuals worldwide with symptomatic disc degeneration, and 103 million (1.41%) individuals worldwide with spinal stenosis annually.
conclusionsA total of 266 million individuals (3.63%) worldwide were found to have DSD and LBP annually. Significantly, data quality is higher in high-income countries, making overall quantification in low- and middle-income countries less complete. A global effort to address degenerative conditions of the lumbar spine in regions with high demand is important to reduce disability.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.