Correlative study of degenerative lumbar scoliosis and osteoporosis

English Keywords:Osteoporosis  Degenerative lumbar scoliosis  Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry  Correlation

English Abstract:

  【Abstract】 Objective：To investigate the correlation between degenerative scoliosis and osteoporosis.Method： From Jan.2004 to Jun.2009，69 patients diagnosed with degenerative scoliosis from out-patient and wards were included in the group.There were 6 males and 63 females with an average age of 69.3 years（range，from 51 to 82 years）.All the patients underwent X-Ray and MRI examines to comfirm the diagnosis，and Cobb angle was recorded respectively.Control group had 50 cases without scoliosis，including 37 spinal stenosis，8 lumbar disc herniation，4 spondylolisthesis and 1 lumbar spinal tumor.The bone density of lumbar，femoral neck， trochanter，Ward′s triangle regions was measured with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.Observe the T-scores of different ages and Cobb angles were observed，to analyze their correlations.Result：Of the 69 cases with degenerative scoliosis，the average T-score was -2.8±1.9（range，from -0.9 to -4.7），52 cases combined with osteoporosis，14 cases combined with osteopenia，the average T-score in the control group was -１.２±1.６（range，from 0.4 to -2.8）.Significant difference was found among the mean t-scores of lumbar and proximal femoral regions of the groups（P<0.05）.According to the comparision of T-score in different ages and Cobb angles，the T-score existed a positive correlation with age，and zero correlation with Cobb angle.Conclusion：Osteoporosis is a risk factor for degenerative scoliosis，there exists a significant correlation.The severity of osteoporosis doesn′t correlate with curve magnitude，but increases with the increasing of age.