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Spinal canal at pedicle level shrunk over 30-year time span
Spinal canals at the pedicle level were, on average, smaller in patient groups between 1970 and 1979 compared with patient group data from 1940 to 1949, researchers reported.
Constantine Schizas, MD, FRCS, and colleagues analyzed results of computed tomographic reconstructions from 184 patients born between either 1940 and 1949 or 1970 and 1979 who had undergone reconstruction for trauma or abdominal pathologies. The researchers measured the cross-sectional area of the bony canal digitally at the pedicle level.
Patients of both sexes born between 1940 and 1949 had larger cross-sectional area values at pedicle level compared with patients born between 1970 and 1979. These differences were statistically significant and more pronounced in the trauma group, according to the researchers.
Schizas and colleagues concluded that additional measurements of a younger patient population were needed to see if the trend continued. According to the researchers, maternal age and maternal smoking may be reasons for this trend.
Disclosure: The authors have no financial disclosures.