Almost half of young Finnish adult aged 21 years had at least one degenerated disc, and a quarter had a bulging disc. Modic changes and disc herniations were, however, relatively rare.

Intervertebral DD was associated with low back symptom severity among young adults, suggesting that the symptoms may have a discogenic origin at this age. However, DD was also found in one-third of asymptomatic subjects.

BackgroundDisc degeneration (DD) is a common condition that progresses with aging. Although the events leading to DD are not well understood, a significant genetic influence has been found. This study was undertaken to assess the association between relevant candidate gene polymorphisms and moderate DD in a well-defined and characterized cohort of young adults. Focusing on young age can be valuable in determining genetic predisposition to DD.MethodsWe investigated the associations of existing candidate genes for DD among 538 young adults with a mean age of 19 belonging to the 1986 Northern Finland Birth Cohort. Nineteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in 16 genes were genotyped. We evaluated lumbar DD using the modified Pfirrmann classification and a 1.5-T magnetic resonance scanner for imaging.ResultsOf the 538 individuals studied, 46% had no degeneration, while 54% had DD and 51% of these had moderate DD. The risk of DD was significantly higher in subjects with an allele G of IL6 SNPs rs1800795 (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.07-1.96) and rs1800797 (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.02-1.85) in the additive inheritance model. The role of IL6 was further supported by the haplotype analysis, which resulted in an association between the GGG haplotype (SNPs rs1800797, rs1800796 and rs1800795) and DD with an OR of 1.51 (95% CI 1.11-2.04). In addition, we observed an association between DD and two other polymorphisms, SKT rs16924573 (OR 0.27 95% CI 0.07-0.96) and CILP rs2073711 in women (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.07-3.89).ConclusionOur results indicate that IL6, SKT and CILP are involved in the etiology of DD among young adults.

PurposeTo evaluate whether midsagittal (abdominal) obesity in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), waist circumference (WC) and body fat percentage are associated with lumbar disc degeneration in early adulthood.MethodsWe obtained the lumbar MRI (1.5-T scanner) of 325 females and 233 males at a mean age of 21 years. Lumbar disc degeneration was evaluated using Pfirrmann classification. We analysed the associations of MRI measures of obesity (abdominal diameter (AD), sagittal diameter (SAD), ventral subcutaneous thickness (VST), and dorsal subcutaneous thickness (DST)), WC and body fat percentage with disc degeneration sum scores using ordinal logistic regression.ResultsA total of 155 (48%) females and 147 (63%) males had disc degeneration. AD and SAD were associated with a disc degeneration sum score of ≥3 compared to disc degeneration sum score of 0–2 (OR 1.67; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20–2.33 and OR 1.40; 95% CI 1.12–1.75, respectively) among males, but we found no association among females. WC was also associated with disc degeneration among males (OR 1.03 per one cm; 95% CI 1.00–1.05), but not among females.ConclusionMeasures of abdominal obesity in MRI and waist circumference were associated with disc degeneration among 21-year-old males.

Low back symptoms and functional limitations over a 3-year period were not associated with increased fat content or a reduction in the cross-sectional area of lumbar paraspinal muscles among young adults.