ArticleMedical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research2025
Effect of Long-Term Smoking on Cervical Disc Degeneration: A Retrospective Study.
Article in Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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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.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Intervertebral disc degeneration.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although studies have shown that nicotine leads to disc degeneration, there is still a need for clinical and radiological studies. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a smoking history of less than 10 years and of more than 10 years, compared with no smoking history, on cervical intervertebral disc degeneration at the C4-C5, C5-C6, and C6-C7 levels in 293 adult patients with documented degenerative changes, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the modified Pfirrmann grading system. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 293 adult patients with degenerative changes at C4-C5, C5-C6, and C6-C7 disc levels were included in this study. Patients were divided into 3 groups based on smoking duration: non-smokers (n=119), ≤10 years (n=93), and >10 years (n=81). Cervical disc degeneration was assessed using the modified Pfirrmann grading system, based on MRI findings. Each level was graded separately. Data were statistically analyzed to assess the relationship between smoking duration and disc degeneration. RESULTS Cervical disc degeneration at the C4-C5, C5-C6, and C6-C7 levels was significantly higher in both smoking groups (≤10 years and >10 years) than in the non-smoking group (P=0.023-<0.001). However, no statistically significant difference was observed between the ≤10-year and >10-year smoking groups at any level (P=0.250-0.989). Age and sex distributions were statistically similar across all groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS This study provides radiological evidence that smoking accelerates cervical disc degeneration and highlights the clinical importance of smoking cessation in patients with cervical spine disorders.
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