Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41964767›Full record

ArticleActa neurochirurgica2026

The association of food deserts with readmission and re-operation following long-segment lumbar fusion.

Sasha Howell, Yifei Sun, Nicholas M B Laskay, Lucia D Juarez, B Grey Vandeberg, Jovanna Tracz, Anil Mahavadi, James Mooney, Jakub Godzik

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Acta neurochirurgica, 2026. 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

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2 · The registry

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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

9 authors.

Sasha HowellDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1030 Faculty Office Tower, 510 20th Street S, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA. sghowell@uabmc.edu.
Yifei SunHeersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Nicholas M B LaskayDepartment of Neurological Surgery, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Lucia D JuarezDivision of General Internal Medicine and Population Science, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
B Grey VandebergDivision of General Internal Medicine and Population Science, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Jovanna TraczDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1030 Faculty Office Tower, 510 20th Street S, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA.
Anil MahavadiDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1030 Faculty Office Tower, 510 20th Street S, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA.
James MooneyDepartment of Neurosurgery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
Jakub GodzikDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1030 Faculty Office Tower, 510 20th Street S, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA. jgodzik@uabmc.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNutrition is increasingly recognized as a key determinant of postoperative recovery in spine surgery. An estimated 17% of U.S. adults reside in a food desert, reflecting a substantial population at risk for poor nutritional status. However, the role of residence in food deserts with spinal fusion outcomes remains unknown.

objectivesWe sought to investigate the association between living in a food desert and rates of reoperation and postoperative complications after long-segment lumbar fusion.

methodsWe retrospectively reviewed all adult patients at a single institution from 2011 to 2023 who underwent open long-segment (≥ 4 levels) lumbar spine fusion. Patient addresses linked with residence in a food desert as defined by the Economic Research Service. Multivariate logistic regressions were utilized to assess the association of food deserts with readmissions and reoperations.

resultsWe identified 354 patients [median age at time of operation was 66 (IQR 59-72)] who met the inclusion criterion, of which 123 (35%) resided in a food desert. Patients in a food desert had higher neighborhood deprivation (80 vs 59, p < .001) and did not have differences in BMI (29.8 vs 29.9 p = .4). In multivariate regression analysis adjusting for frailty, clinical, socioeconomic, and operative characteristics, patients residing in a food desert had independently increased odds of re-operation within one year (OR 1.84, 95%CI 1.03-3.30) and readmission due to infection or wound breakdown (OR 3.09, 95%CI 1.03-10.1). Patients residing in a food desert were more likely to require reoperation for wound revision (8.9% vs 3.0%, p = .016) within one year. Using weighted survival analysis, patients who lived in a food desert had sooner times to reoperation (p = .045).

conclusionsResidence in a food desert may be a risk factor for reoperations following long segment lumbar spine surgery. Nutritional access may be an underlying driver of socioeconomic disparity impacting long-segment lumbar fusion.

Indexed as

Food DesertsLumbar VertebraePatient ReadmissionPostoperative ComplicationsReoperationSpinal FusionAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesFood accessHealth disparityLumbar fusionNutritionPostoperative outcomesSocial determinants of health

Identifiers

PMID41964767
PMCPMC13183740

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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.