Association between severe lumbar disc degeneration and end-stage hip or knee osteoarthritis requiring joint replacement surgery: a population-based cohort study with a 26-year follow-up.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

An association between intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) and osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip and knee has been found previously. However, studies using MRI-evaluated IDD grades with large sample sizes are lacking. Total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA and TKA) can be considered an indicator of clinically evident end-stage OA.

Materials and methods

The study population consisted of 1,153 postmenopausal Finnish women with clinical back problems, of whom 166 had THA and 295 had TKA during the 26-year follow-up. The study was based on the prospective OSTPRE cohort established in 1989 and Finnish Arthroplasty Register data. The IDD severity was graded from T2-weighted lumbar MRI images using the five-grade Pfirrmann classification. Five intervertebral levels (L1-L

SUBMITTER: Salo S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12069494 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature