ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2020
An exploratory study of different definitions and thresholds for lumbar disc degeneration assessed by MRI and their associations with low back pain using data from a cohort study of a general population.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Human In Vivo Disc Mechanics in Flexion, Extension, and Diurnal Loading With Aging and Degeneration.JOR spine · 2026Article
- Diagnostic Features of Discogenic Low Back Pain: A Narrative Review and Suggested Areas for Future Research and Clinical Practice.JOR spine · 2026Review
- Age- and sex-related differences in lumbar disc degeneration and multifidus muscle atrophy: a retrospective MRI study of 238 patients with chronic low back pain.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Article
- Association between cervical MRI findings and patient-reported severity of headache in patients with persistent neck pain: a cross-sectional study.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2025Article
- Effective disc age: a statistical model for age-dependent and level-specific lumbar disc degeneration using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).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 · 2025Article
- The association of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration with low back pain is modified by underlying genetic propensity to pain.The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society · 2025Article
- Sociodemographic Influences on Lumbar Disc Degeneration Severity and the Diagnostic Potential of Disc‑CSF Signal Ratio: Insights from a South East Asia Population Study.Journal of the Belgian Society of Radiology · 2025Article
- Melatonin alleviates oxidative stress-induced injury to nucleus pulposus-derived mesenchymal stem cells through activating PI3K/Akt pathway.Journal of orthopaedic translation · 2023Article
- Intervertebral disc degeneration-Current therapeutic options and challenges.Frontiers in public health · 2023Review
- 1,25(OH)Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2022Article
- Article
- Advancing frontiers in rheumatic and musculoskeletal imaging.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLumbar disc degeneration seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is defined as loss of signal intensity and/or disc height, alone or in combination with other MRI findings. The MRI findings and thresholds used to define disc degeneration vary in the literature, and their associations with low back pain (LBP) remain uncertain.
objectiveTo explore how various thresholds of lumbar disc degeneration alter the association between disc degeneration and self-reported LBP.
methodsAn exploratory, cross-sectional cohort study of a general population. Participants in the cohort 'Backs-on-Funen' had MRI scans and completed questionnaires about LBP at ages 41, 45 and 49 years. The MRI variables, signal intensity (Grades 0-3) and disc height (Grades 0-3), were dichotomised at different thresholds. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine associations. Arbitrarily, a difference in odds ratio (OR) of > 0.5 between thresholds was considered clinically relevant. Receiver Operating Characteristic curves were used to investigate differences between diagnostic values at each threshold.
resultsAt age 41, the difference in ORs between signal loss and LBP exceeded 0.5 between the thresholds of ≥2 (OR = 2.02) and = 3 (OR = 2.57). Difference in area under the curves (AUC) was statistically significant (p = 0.02). At ages 45 and 49, the difference in ORs exceeded 0.5 between the thresholds of ≥2 and = 3, but the differences between AUC were not statistically significant. At age 41, the difference in ORs between disc height loss and LBP at the thresholds of ≥1 (OR = 1.44) and ≥ 2 (OR = 2.53) exceeded 0.5. Differences in AUC were statistically significant (p = 0.004). At age 49, differences in ORs exceeded 0.5 (OR = 2.49 at the ≥1 threshold, 1.84 at ≥2 and 0.89 at =3). Differences between AUC were not statistically significant.
conclusionThe results suggest that the thresholds used to define the presence of lumbar disc degeneration influence how strongly it is associated with LBP. Thresholds at more severe grades of disc signal and disc height loss were more strongly associated with LBP at age 41, but thresholds at moderate grades of disc degeneration were most strongly associated with LBP at ages 45 and 49.
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