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Assessment of trunk muscle density using CT and its association with degenerative disc and facet joint disease of the lumbar spine

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Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this study was (1) to evaluate the association of trunk muscle density assessed by computed tomography (CT) with age, gender, and BMI and (2) to evaluate the association between trunk muscle CT density and degenerative disc and facet joint disease of the lumbar spine.

Material and methods

The study was IRB approved and HIPAA compliant. The study group comprised 100 subjects (mean age 44.4 ± 22.2 years, 51 % male) who underwent CT of the abdomen and pelvis without intravenous contrast. Exclusion criteria included prior abdominal or spine surgery, active malignancy and scoliosis. CTs were reviewed and the attenuation of the rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, internal and external obliques, psoas, multifidus, longissimus and gluteus maximus were measured bilaterally at consistent levels. Degenerative disc and bilateral facet joint disease were scored using established methods. Univariate analyses were performed using linear regression. Multivariate linear regression was performed to adjust for age, gender and BMI.

Results

CT density of each trunk muscle correlated inversely with age (p < 0.001) and BMI (p < 0.001). CT density of each trunk muscle correlated inversely with degenerative disc and facet joint disease in the univariate analyses (p < 0.001); however, only the gluteus maximus and the transverse abdominis remained significant predictors of degenerative disc and facet joint disease respectively in the multivariate analysis.

Conclusion

Fatty infiltration of trunk musculature increases with age and BMI. Fatty infiltration of the gluteus maximus and transverse abdominis are associated with degenerative disc and facet joint disease, independent of age, gender and BMI.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Musculoskeletal Section, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, 3737 Market Street, No. 6175, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Ronnie Sebro

  2. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Colby College, Waterville, ME, 04901, USA

    Liam O’Brien

  3. School of Community and Population Health, University of New England, Portland, ME, 04103, USA

    Liam O’Brien

  4. Musculoskeletal Imaging and Intervention, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Yawkey 6E, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Martin Torriani & Miriam A. Bredella

Authors
  1. Ronnie Sebro
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  2. Liam O’Brien
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  3. Martin Torriani
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  4. Miriam A. Bredella
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Miriam A. Bredella.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Ralph Schlaeger Research Award.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was waived for individual participants included in the study. The study was approved by the local Institutional Review Board (IRB) and HIPAA compliant.

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Sebro, R., O’Brien, L., Torriani, M. et al. Assessment of trunk muscle density using CT and its association with degenerative disc and facet joint disease of the lumbar spine. Skeletal Radiol 45, 1221–1226 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-016-2405-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-016-2405-8

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