Prevalence of benign osseous lesions of the spine and association with spinal pain in the general population in whole body MRI

Abstract

BackgroundBenign osseous lesions of the spine are common but precise population prevalence estimates are lacking. Our study aimed to provide the first population-based prevalence estimates and examine association with back and neck pain.Materials and methodsWe used data from the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP). Whole-body MRI examinations (1.5 Tesla: T1, T2, and TIRM weightings) were available from 3,259 participants. Readings of the spinal MRI images were conducted according to a standardized protocol by a single reader (JS). The intra-rater reliability was greater than Kappa values of 0.98. Pain measures included the seven-day prevalence of spine pain and neck pain, and average spine pain intensity due to spine pain during the past three months.ResultsWe found 1,200 (36.8%) participants with at least one osseous lesion (2,080 lesions in total). Osseous lesions were less common in men than in women (35.5% vs 38.9%; P = .06). The prevalence of osseous lesions was highest at L2 in both sexes. The prevalence of osseous lesions increased with age. Up to eight osseous lesions were observed in a single subject. Hemangioma (28%), and lipoma (13%) occurred most often. Sclerosis (1.7%), aneurysmal bone cysts (0.7%), and blastoma (0.3%) were rare. Different osseous lesions occurred more often in combination with each other. The association with back or neck pain was mostly negligible.ConclusionOsseous lesions are common in the general population but of no clinical relevance for spinal pain. The prevalence of osseous lesions varied strongly across different regions of the spine and was also associated with age and gender. Our population-based data offer new insights and assist in judging the relevance of osseous lesions observed on MRIs of patients.

Low‐field magnetic resonance imaging characteristics of multifocal vertebral lesions in dogs

“…Spinal pain was a common clinical sign in aggressive lesions. As in this study, in human medicine, benign vertebral lesions have been less frequently linked to spinal pain and are usually of no clinical significance, 16 whereas in aggressive lesions spinal pain occurs predominantly due to disruption of the periosteum and cortical expansion and in later stages due to neural compression 17 . The authors speculate that in our cohort of patients, this clinical sign may have been a result not only of spinal cord compression and destruction of the cortical vertebral bone but also from involvement of the paravertebral musculature.…”

Establishing Normative Values for Acromion Anatomy: A Comprehensive MRI-Based Study in a Healthy Population of 996 Participants

“…The study of Health in Pomerania is a German population-based study performed in the counties of Northern and Eastern Pomerania and the German cities Stralsund and Greifswald to describe the health status of the Pomeranian society [ 21 , 22 ]. There were two independent cohorts of Pomeranian citizens examined aged from 20 to 79 years.…”

“…Two follow-up examinations were executed from 2002–2006 (SHIP-1, n = 3300) and 2008–2012 (SHIP-2, n = 2333). In 2008, there was another independent cohort accomplished (SHIP-TREND, n = 4420, response 50%) with a wider spectrum of examinations [ 21 , 22 ]. Overall, 3371 of 6753 experimentees from SHIP-2 and SHIP-TREND went through a whole-body MRI examination (Magnetom Avanto, 1.5 Tesla, Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany), which were used for the current study.…”

Vertebral Primary Bone Lesions: Review of Management Options

“…When cells in the bone undergo uncontrolled growth, these lesions are referred to as bone tumors, and when the abnormal tissue closely resembles the healthy bone structure, the lesion is considered benign [ 5 ]. Examples of benign lesions include hemangiomas, lipomas, sclerosis, aneurysmal bone cysts, osteoid osteomas, and osteoblastomas [ 6 ]. Malignant lesions are similar to bone tumors but demonstrate a growth capable of metastasis [ 7 ].…”