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Review
. 2016 Dec 1:11:39-52.
doi: 10.1016/j.jot.2016.11.001. eCollection 2017 Oct.

Lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis epidemiology: A systematic review with a focus on gender-specific and age-specific prevalence

Yi Xiang J Wang  1 , Zoltán Káplár  1 , Min Deng  1 , Jason C S Leung  2
Affiliations
Review

Lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis epidemiology: A systematic review with a focus on gender-specific and age-specific prevalence

Yi Xiang J Wang et al. J Orthop Translat. .

Abstract

The epidemiology of lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) remains controversial. We performed a systematic review with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the prevalence of DS in the general population. The results showed that the prevalence of DS is very gender- and age-specific. Few women and men develop DS before they are 50 years old. After 50 years of age, both women and men begin to develop DS, with women having a faster rate of development than men. For elderly Chinese (≥ 65 years, mean age: 72.5 years), large population-based studies MsOS (Hong Kong, females: n = 2000) and MrOS (Hong Kong, males: n = 2000) showed DS prevalence was 25.0% in women and 19.1% in men. The female:male (F:M) prevalence ratio was 1.3:1. The published data for MsOS (USA) and MrOS (USA) studies seem to show that elderly Caucasian Americans have a higher DS prevalence, being approximately 60-70% higher than elderly Chinese; however, the F:M prevalence ratio was similar to the elderly Chinese population. Patient data showed that female patients more often received surgical treatment than male and preliminary data showed the ratio of female to male patients receiving surgical treatment did not differ between Northeast Asians (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean), Europeans, and American Caucasians, being around 2:1 in the elderly population. The existing data also suggest that menopause may be a contributing factor for the accelerated development of DS in postmenopausal women. The translational potential of this article: A better understanding of epidemiology of lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis can support patient consultation and treatment planning.

Keywords: Caucasian; Chinese; degenerative spondylolisthesis; men; prevalence; women.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Normal anatomy L5/S1; (B) degenerative spondylolisthesis of L4/L5; and (C,D) different extents of spondylolytic spondylolisthesis of L5/S1.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Multiple-level spondylolisthesis of L2 (Grade I posterolithesis) and L4 (Grade I anterolisthesis); (B) spondylolisthesis of L2 (Grade I posterolithesis) with formation of osteophytes probably as a mechanism to compensate for stabilization; and (C) L4 spondylolisthesis (Grade I anterolisthesis).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Scheme of spondylolisthesis grading methods: (A) Meyerding, and (B) Taillard.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The prevalence of DS is very gender-specific and age-specific. Both women and men have a low incidence of DS before 50 years of age. After 50 years, both women and men start to develop DS, with women beginning to develop DS at a faster rate than men (A–D). (A) Raw data from reference ; (B) raw data from reference ; (C) raw data from reference ; and (D) raw data from reference .
Figure 5
Figure 5
The elderly Chinese DS prevalence based on elderly Chinese MsOS (Hong Kong) and MrOS (Hong Kong) studies. Baseline data and Year-4 follow-up data have been combined. x-Axis: age in years; y-axis: prevalence (in %). Source data from references and .
Figure 6
Figure 6
Surgical patient series age-specific female:male ratio for European/American Caucasian and Northeast Asian groups. Data were extracted from references , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .
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