Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39870984›Full record

ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2025

Age-threshold for increased risk of developing back disorders: prospective cohort with 74 000 individuals from the UK Biobank.

Rubén López-Bueno, Lars Louis Andersen, Rodrigo Núñez-Cortés, Laura López-Bueno, Luis Suso-Martí, Jorge Hugo Villafañe, Joaquín Salazar-Méndez, Joaquín Calatayud

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Article in 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. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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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

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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

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Rubén López-BuenoDepartment of Physical Medicine and Nursing, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
Lars Louis AndersenNational Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Rodrigo Núñez-CortésDepartment of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile. r_nunez@uchile.cl.
Laura López-BuenoExercise Intervention for Health Research Group (EXINH-RG), Department of Physiotherapy, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
Luis Suso-MartíExercise Intervention for Health Research Group (EXINH-RG), Department of Physiotherapy, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
Jorge Hugo VillafañeDepartment of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Joaquín Salazar-MéndezEscuela de Ciencias del Deporte y Actividad Física, Facultad de Salud, Universidad Santo Tomás, Talca, Chile.
Joaquín CalatayudExercise Intervention for Health Research Group (EXINH-RG), Department of Physiotherapy, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo investigate the prospective associations between age and the risk of low back disorders (LBD), dorsal disorders (DD), and cervical disorders (CD), and to identify a potential age-threshold for increased risk of back disorders.

methodsProspective cohort from the UK Biobank comprising adults with no history of back disorders. We examined different ages and their association with the risk of back disorders derived from diagnoses of hospital registers. Associations were investigated using restricted cubic splines adjusted for sex, racial and ethnic background, tobacco use, Townsend Deprivation Index, alcohol consumption, educational attainment, employment status, self-reported health, diet quality, body mass index, medication use, physical activity, and handgrip strength.

resultsThe analytic sample comprised 74,191 participants (mean [SD] age, 55.2 [7.8] years; 57%women) who were followed-up for 7.9 years (IQR = 7.3-8.4). Overall, 3297 (4.3%) cases of incident LBD, 1224 (1.6%) cases of DD, and 792 (1.0%) of CD were documented. The association between age and LBD showed a curvilinear shape with significant higher risk within the range of 61 (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.39 [95%CI,1.02-1.49]) and 70 (HR = 1.71 [95%CI,1.38-2.12]) years (reference:40 years). Similarly, the association of age with DD exhibited a significant curvilinear association within the range of 60 (HR = 1.31 [95%CI,1.01-1.92]) and 70 (HR = 2.74 [95%CI,1.94-3.86]) years. The association between age and CD was not significant.

conclusionsThe risk of LBD and DD, but not CD, increases beyond 60 years of age. Targeting people at this critical age-threshold to prevent risk for LBD and DD may be warranted for future interventions and preventive health programmes.

Indexed as

Low Back PainSpinal DiseasesAdultAgedAge FactorsBiological Specimen BanksFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesRisk FactorsUK BiobankUnited KingdomAgeingCervical disordersDorsal disordersLow back disordersPathologyRisk factor

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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.