Vertebral Scheuermann's disease in Europe: prevalence, geographic variation and radiological correlates in men and women aged 50 and over.

UNLABELLED: In 27 centres across Europe, the prevalence of deforming spinal Scheuermann's disease in age-stratified population-based samples of over 10,000 men and women aged 50+ averaged 8% in each sex, but was highly variable between centres. Low DXA BMD was un-associated with Scheuermann's, helping the differential diagnosis from osteoporosis. INTRODUCTION: This study aims to assess the prevalence of Scheuermann's disease of the spine across Europe in men and women over 50 years of age, to quantitate its association with bone mineral density (BMD) and to assess its role as a confounder for the radiographic diagnosis of osteoporotic fracture. METHODS: In 27 centres participating in the population-based European Vertebral Osteoporosis Study (EVOS), standardised lateral radiographs of the lumbar and of the thoracic spine from T4 to L4 were assessed in all those of adequate quality. The presence of Scheuermann's disease, a confounder for prevalent fracture in later life, was defined by the presence of at least one Schmorl's node or irregular endplate together with kyphosis (sagittal Cobb angle >40° between T4 and T12) or a wedged-shaped vertebral body. Alternatively, the (rare) Edgren-Vaino sign was taken as diagnostic. The 6-point-per-vertebral-body (13 vertebrae) method was used to assess osteoporotic vertebral shape and fracture caseness. DXA BMD of the L2-L4 and femoral neck regions was measured in subsets. We also assessed the presence of Scheuermann's by alternative published algorithms when these used the radiographic signs we assessed. RESULTS: Vertebral radiographic images from 4486 men and 5655 women passed all quality checks. Prevalence of Scheuermann's varied considerably between centres, and based on random effect modelling, the overall European prevalence using our method was 8% with no significant difference between sexes. The highest prevalences were seen in Germany, Sweden, the UK and France and low prevalences were seen in Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Centre-level prevalences in men and women were highly correlated. Scheuermann's was not associated with BMD of the spine or hip. CONCLUSIONS: Since most of the variation in population impact of Scheuermann's was unaccounted for by the radiological and anthropometric data, the search for new genetic and environmental determinants of this disease is encouraged.

The number and characteristics of prevalent vertebral fractures in elderly men are associated with low bone mass and osteoporosis.

We sought to determine whether specific characteristics of vertebral fractures in elderly men are associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporosis. Mister Osteoporosis Sweden is a population based cohort study involving 3014 men aged 69 to 81 years. Of these, 1427 had readable lateral radiographs of the thoracic and lumbar spine. Total body (TB) BMD (g/cm²) and total right hip (TH) BMD were measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. The proportion of men with osteoporosis was calculated from TH BMD. There were 215 men (15.1%) with a vertebral fracture. Those with a fracture had lower TB BMD than those without (p < 0.001). Among men with a fracture, TB BMD was lower in those with more than three fractures (p = 0.02), those with biconcave fractures (p = 0.02) and those with vertebral body compression of > 42% (worst quartile) (p = 0.03). The mean odds ratio (OR) for having osteoporosis when having any type of vertebral fracture was 6.1 (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.9 to 9.5) compared with those without a fracture. A combination of more than three fractures and compression in the worst quartile had a mean OR of 114.2 (95% CI 6.7 to 1938.3) of having osteoporosis compared with those without a fracture. We recommend BMD studies to be undertaken in these subcohorts of elderly men with a vertebral fracture.

Changes of bone mineral mass and soft tissue composition after hip fracture.

The aim of this prospective longitudinal study was to measure prospectively the bone mineral density (BMD) and anthropometric variables after a hip fracture. In particular, we studied changes in the BMD in both the injured and uninjured hips, and examined if the postoperative mortality rate and complications, including pseudarthrosis of the fracture and late segmental collapse of the head of the femur, could be predicted by early bone mass measurements. The bone mineral density and the body composition were measured with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in 102 consecutive hip fracture patients, 31 men and 71 women, with a mean age of 74 and 79 years, respectively. All cases were operated on within 3 days. The measurements were undertaken within 10 days after the fracture, after 4 and after 12 months. The BMD of the hip fracture cases decreased, especially in the lower extremities where the patients lost 7%, during the first year after the fracture. The patients also lost lean body mass (5%) but gained fat (11%) during the same period. They lost significantly more bone mass in the fractured hip than in the uninjured hip (p < 0.05). No difference was found between those patients who survived and those who died within 2 years after their hip fracture in neither the initial measurement nor in the follow-up measurements. Also, we found no difference between those patients whose hip fracture healed and those who developed late segmental collapse or pseudarthrosis. In conclusion, osteoporotic hip fracture cases lose bone mass at an increased rate, especially in the fractured hip. Also, their soft tissue composition changes, gaining fat while losing muscle mass. Furthermore, it seems that early bone mineral measurements cannot predict postoperative failures or postoperative mortality.

Targeting of hormone replacement therapy immediately after menopause.

The aim of this study was to model the effect of short (3-year) treatments with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) at the time of menopause on the risk of osteoporotic fracture, and to assess the impact of strategies to target high-risk individuals. From the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture risk, treatment that increased bone mineral density at the hip by 6% over untreated women would save 35 vertebral, 62 hip, 13 proximal humeral, and 16 forearm fractures per 1000 women. The number needed to treat (NNT) to prevent one of these fractures was 8. The NNT fell modestly by targeting HRT to women with low bone mass or osteoporosis (NNT 6 and 5, respectively). The gains in fractures saved from targeting women with low bone mass or osteoporosis were offset by the requirement for assessment by BMD. Changes in the assumptions about the efficacy of HRT had a modest impact on fractures saved compared with the effect of changing assumptions concerning the offset of effect when treatment was stopped. We conclude that comparatively short courses of HRT might be effectively offered to all suitable women at menopause provided that the effects on bone persist when treatment is stopped.

Femoral neck geometry and radiographic signs of osteoporosis as predictors of hip fracture.

A total of 125 consecutive hip fracture patients were investigated regarding hip geometry. There were 33 men of mean age 76 +/- 10 years, and 92 women of mean age 78 +/- 9 years. Patients with previous hip surgery were excluded. Hip geometry (hip-axis length, width of collum femoris, and femoral shaft and neck-shaft angle) were registered on both plain radiographs and DEXA scans performed within 2 weeks after fracture. On the radiographs, the calcar femorale, the Singh index, and the femoral neck index (FNI) were also calculated and compared with earlier published values of bone mineral density hip in the hip fracture patients. The fracture cases were compared with controls, 192 DEXA scans and 163 radiographs, in patients without hip surgery or known hip disease. As measured on the DEXA scans we found a wider collum femoris and a wider femoral shaft in both the male and female fracture cases, compared to controls. Also, the fracture cases showed signs of osteoporosis as measured by the calcar femorale, the Singh index, and the femoral neck index. These measurements showed good correlation with bone mineral density of the hip as measured by the DEXA scans.

Incidence of hip fractures in Malmö, Sweden (1950-1991).

In a 24-year sub-sample taken from a 42-year period of study (1950-1991), hip fracture incidence was analysed from a defined catchment area within one hospital. During this time, 8,256 hip fractures occurred in a generated risk population of 1,915,571 person-years. Crude incidence increased three-fold in women and five-fold in men. In men, the age-specific increase was twice as large as the age drift. In women, the two components were of equal size. The more marked increase in men caused the female:male ratio to decrease from 4.2 in 1950 to 2.4 in 1991. In men, all age classes experienced a significant yearly increase (1.6% in the 50-59 age group, 3.9% over the age of 80). In women, only the 70-79 and 80+ age groups showed a significant increase (1.4%, 2.3%). In the age-standardised curve, a levelling off occurred during the mid-80s. In women, this was attributable to changes in climate during wintertime. In men, no significant association was found with temperature. The age-standardised curve followed an approximate linear trend with an increase of 6.4/100,000/year in women and 4.9/100,000/year in men. The cumulative rate for the age group 50-79 years doubled in men but increased only by one-third in women. The impact of increasing incidence in men compared with women is discussed using an osteoporosis model consisting of base risk, senile risk, and post-menopausal risk.

Hip fracture patients have more vertebral deformities than subjects in population-based studies.

The prevalence of vertebral deformity, estimated in lateral spine radiographs (Th4-L4) using quantitative morphometry, in 64 men and 132 women with hip fractures was compared with the prevalence of vertebral deformity in individuals in two population-based studies. A vertebral deformity of a specific vertebra was defined as a 3, 4, or 5 SD reduction from the normal mean of any of three ratios describing that specific vertebra. The age-adjusted prevalence of individuals with vertebral deformities was higher among the hip fracture patients than among the reference subjects in both genders, with an odds ratio of 3.6 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.9-6.6] in men and 2.6 (95% CI 1.7-4.1) in women using deformity criterion -3 SD. Also, the number of vertebrae with deformities (-3 SD) in individuals with one deformity or more was greater among the hip fracture patients than among the reference subjects (in men mean 2.3 versus 1.8, P = 0.007; in women mean 3.3 versus 2.0, P < 0.001). Adjusted for age there were more vertebrae with deformities (-3 SD) among female than among male hip fracture patients (mean 3.3 versus 2.3, P = 0.01). We found no differences in the vertebral deformity rates when comparing patients with a per- or subtrochanteric hip fracture with patients with a cervical hip fracture. In conclusion, there is a relationship between vertebral deformities and hip fractures suggesting that a prevalent vertebral deformity could predict an increased hip fracture risk.

Long-term results of fracture of the scaphoid. A follow-up study of more than thirty years.

Fifty-six patients who had had a fracture of the scaphoid from January 1950 through December 1959 were interviewed, re-examined, and had radiographs made of both hands an average of thirty-six years (range, thirty-one to forty years) later. The average age at the time of the treatment was twenty-eight years (range, fifteen to forty-five years). Fifty-two of the fifty-six patients were treated at the time of the fracture; the other four had a non-union when first seen. The rate of non-union for the fresh fractures at the most recent follow-up examination was 10 per cent (five of fifty-two). Dorsal intercalated-segment instability was found in three of the fifty-six patients; all three had a pseudarthrosis and manifest radiocarpal osteoarthrosis. Marked radiocarpal osteoarthrosis developed in only one (2 per cent) of the forty-seven patients who had a healed fracture; it was far more common in the group that had a pseudarthrosis, in which the prevalence was five of nine patients. Manifest osteoarthrosis also seemed to be associated with pain or weakness: it had developed in only three (6 per cent) of the forty-nine patients who did not have any symptoms at the re-examination, compared with three of the seven who had symptoms.

Preoperative and postoperative instability in lumbar spinal stenosis.

Sixty-one patients operated on for spinal stenosis, without a fusion, were studied retrospectively. Preoperative instability, as revealed by functional myelography, was found to predict a poor prognosis (P less than 0.01). Women had less favorable results (P less than 0.05). The "slipping" group was significantly more often radically decompressed than the "nonslipping" group (P less than 0.01). Postoperative slipping was found in 26 patients, significantly more often in those with unsatisfactory results (P less than 0.001).

Complications after transpedicular stabilization of the spine. A survivorship analysis of 163 cases.

OBJECTIVES: The authors studied complications of transpedicular stabilization methods. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: One hundred and sixty-three consecutive transpedicular stabilization procedures were performed between January 1987 and December 1991. The indications for stabilization were trauma (33 cases), metastatic spinal disorder (30 cases), spinal stenosis (33 cases), spondylolisthesis (27 cases), ankylosing spondylitis (6 cases), low back pain (22 cases), and miscellaneous (12 cases). METHODS: Patients records and the entire series of radiographs for each case were scrutinized by independent observers. All per- and postoperative complications, including implant loosening and fatigue, were recorded. Clinical and radiographic survivorship analyses of the implants were performed. RESULTS: Early complications were unusual and none were associated with permanent morbidity. The probability of not having the implant removed in the first postoperative year was 85%. There was a 40% risk of radiographic failure, defined as loosening or implant fatigue, at 6 months. The outcome was more favorable in cases in which anterior vertebral interbody fusion was also performed. CONCLUSIONS: Transpedicular fixation is a safe procedure with a low incidence of serious per- and early postoperative complications. The mechanical durability of transpedicular fixators used alone is a cause for concern.

Mid-clavicle fractures in adults: end result study after conservative treatment.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to analyze the long-term outcome of mid-clavicle fractures in adults and to evaluate the clinical importance of displacement and fracture comminution. DESIGN: Two hundred twenty-five mid-clavicular fractures that had been nonsurgically treated at Malmö University Hospital were retrospectively evaluated, both clinically and radiographically, an average of seventeen years after injury. There were seventy-one undisplaced fractures, sixty-nine displaced two-fragment fractures, and eighty-five displaced and comminuted fractures. The average patient age at the time of trauma was thirty-three years (range 15 to 70 years). Patients were interviewed, and careful clinical and radiological examination of their shoulders was performed. Two patients had experienced transient neuritis, and another two underwent operative treatment because of progressive neuropathy. SETTING: All 225 consecutive patients were treated primarily at the Malmö University Hospital, which serves the Malmö city population (250,000). PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: Since the beginning of this century, all radiographs taken at the Malmö University Hospital have been classified and filed for easy retrieval. In this retrospective study, all patients treated between 1970 and 1979 were identified, and those still living were called for follow-up examination. INTERVENTION: Of the 225 fractures reviewed, 197 fractures were originally treated with a figure-of-eight splint for an average period of three weeks without any attempt to reduce the displaced fractures; twenty-four patients were allowed immediate free shoulder mobilization. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Clinical rating and healing were the main outcome measurements. RESULTS: At follow-up, 185 shoulders were asymptomatic. Thirty-nine shoulders had moderate pain and were rated as fair, and one patient was rated as poor. One hundred twenty-five of the fractures had healed normally, fifty-three were malunited with persistent fracture displacement, and seven were nonunions; nonunion was significantly more prevalent in cases with displaced fractures. Forty malunited fractures and three nonunions were rated as good. CONCLUSIONS: This review demonstrates that few patients with fractures of the mid-part of the clavicle require operative treatment.

Fractures of the distal end of the radius in young adults: a 30-year follow-up.

76 patients were examined clinically and radiologically 27 to 36 years after a fracture of the distal radius. The average age was 31 years at the time of injury and 63 years at follow-up. In 81% of the patients there was no difference between the fractured and the non-fractured side. No patient had to change his or her occupation or leisure activities because of the fracture. There were more degenerative changes in the fractured wrist than in the non-injured side. A statistically significant correlation was found between axial compression and the presence of degenerative changes in the radio-carpal and distal radio-ulnar joints. Treatment of the fracture of the distal end of the radius in the young adult should aim to conserve the length of the radius. However, after 30 years, complaints are few and correlate with degenerative changes in the radio-carpal joint only. 47 patients with articular fractures of the distal end of the radius were examined in the same way. The average age at the time of injury was 32 years and 58% of the patients were men. In 87% of the patients there was no difference between the fractured and the non-fractured side. However 37% had minor complaints. A higher proportion of patients with articular fractures developed degenerative changes than those with non-articular fractures. The existence of radiographic signs of osteoarthritis is directly related to axial compression and the persistent incongruity, after reposition, in either the radio-carpal or the distal radio-ulnar joints.

Silicone rubber implants for arthrosis of the scaphotrapezial joint.

Between 1980 and 1983, 10 patients received high performance silicone rubber condylar implants for the treatment of isolated degenerative changes of the scaphotrapezial joint. Early clinical and radiographic results (at a mean of 15 months) were excellent. Late follow up of these 10 together with a further 11 patients, however, showed migration of the implant and radiological signs of silicone particle synovitis in all but two. We no longer recommend this operation for treatment of isolated arthrosis of the scaphotrapezial joint.

Foreign body reaction after modified silicone rubber arthroplasty of the first carpometacarpal joint.

Twenty patients who had been treated with a silicone rubber trapezial implant for degenerative changes in the first carpometacarpal joint were evaluated radiologically and clinically. After a mean follow up of 4.5 years, 11 of the 20 required reoperation and removal of the prosthesis for persisting pain and weakness. In all hands in which the prosthesis remained radiographs showed bone resorption or carpal bone cysts typical of silicone particle synovitis. In the light of these results we now do not recommend this procedure for the treatment of arthritis of the first carpometacarpal joint.

Long-term morbidity and mortality after a clinically diagnosed vertebral fracture in the elderly--a 12- and 22-year follow-up of 257 patients.

The objective of this study was to analyze the long-term morbidity and mortality in patients with a clinically diagnosed vertebral fracture. Seventy men with a mean age of 70 years (range 50-91 years) and 187 women with a mean age of 72 years (range 50-96 years) were radiographically diagnosed as having a vertebral fracture in the thoracic or lumbar spine at the Malmö University Hospital (Sweden) during 1979. At the time of a follow-up examination 12 years later, 56 of the 76 patients who were still alive participated in an investigation that evaluated back pain and subjective health status by a questionnaire. Forty-four of these subjects also participated in a further radiologic examination of the spine. Serving as controls were age- and gender-matched subjects from the Malmö cohort of the European Vertebral Osteoporosis Study (EVOS). A mortality analysis was also conducted, covering 22 years following the baseline fracture. There were more female patients, who, in comparison with the controls, 12 years after the diagnosis, had had back pain during the year preceding the follow-up (72% vs 33%, P < 0.001), had current back pain (42% vs. 19%, P = 0.006), and had a subjectively impaired health status (44% vs. 17%, P < 0.001). The corresponding differences in men reached only a borderline significance, for both back pain during the year preceding the follow-up (60% vs. 28%, P = 0.07) and current back pain (40% vs. 15%, P = 0.09), whereas there was no difference in subjective health status. The incidence of new vertebral fractures in individuals with a clinically diagnosed vertebral fracture during the following 12 years was in men 25 per 1,000 person-years and in women 49 per 1000 person-years. There were more women with a new vertebral fracture at the 12-year follow-up examination who, in comparison with women without a new fracture, had had back pain during the year preceding the follow-up examination (90% vs. 50%, age-adjusted P = 0.02) and had current back pain (65% vs. 21%, age-adjusted P = 0.03). Women with a new vertebral fracture at the 12-year follow-up examination had a higher subsequent mortality rate in the next 10 years [age-adjusted hazard ratio 2.8 (95% CI 1.0-7.9)] as compared with women without. The mortality rate during the 22 years following the diagnosis among the male patients was 111.7 per 1,000 person-years as compared with 73.4 per 1,000 person-years among the male population at risk. The mortality rate among the female patients was 95.1 per 1,000 person-years as compared with 62.0 per 1,000 person-years among the female population at risk. We conclude that a clinically diagnosed thoracic or lumbar vertebral fracture in the elderly can be regarded as a risk factor for subsequent, long-term morbidity, especially in women, and for mortality in both genders.

Severe rheumatoid arthritis of the temporomandibular joints and its coincidence with severe rheumatoid arthritis of the cervical spine.

The degree of arthritis of the cervical spine was retrospectively studied in cervical spine radiographs from 400 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In the same cervical radiographs the arthritic destruction of the temporomandibular joints was measured as diminished ramal height from the mandibular angle to the palato-occipital line. Reduced ramal height was found in 76 patients, 69 women and 7 men, and in 33 patients the reduction in height was severe enough to be compatible with a total destruction of the mandibular head. An arthritic destruction of the temporomandibular joints occurred significantly more often in patients with a severe cervical arthritis than in those without cervical affection, and vice versa. Of the 76 patients with a reduced ramal height, 66% had a severe arthritis of the cervical spine and of the 100 patients with severe arthritic changes of the cervical spine, 50% had severe destructive arthritis of the temporomandibular joints.

Radiographic measurements of severe temporomandibular joint destruction at cervical radiography. Designed for evaluation in rheumatoid arthritis.

Radiological examinations of the temporomandibular joints are not so often performed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, greater abnormalities of the mandibular head and neck may be evaluated at cervical radiography. With a new method, where the perpendicular distance from the palato-occipital line to the mandibular angle was measured, normal values of the distance or of ramal height were found to be above 27.5 mm in women and 33 mm in men. A significantly diminished ramal height was found in a patient material with RA compared with a normal material. Minor changes of the temporomandibular joints cannot be detected with this method, but severe arthritic destruction of the mandibular head or neck will give subnormal values.

Subaxial caudal dislocation of the cervical spine in rheumatoid arthritis.

Subaxial (below the C 2) caudal dislocation is in the present study defined as a complete or partial dislocation caudally of a vertebral body (C 3 or below) into the plane of a lower vertebral body. In rheumatoid arthritis this dislocation is combined with erosive lesions of the vertebral bodies. In the present retrospective study seven such cases are presented. All were middle-aged or elderly women with a long history of disease and all also had a horizontal dislocation at the same level. Two patients had this dislocation at more than one level of the cervical spine and in two patients there was encroachment on the spinal canal. Most patients also had dislocations at the atlanto-axial level. Neurologic sequelae were rare.