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Association between adolescent sport activities and lumbar disk degeneration among young adults
Author(s) -
Takatalo J.,
Karppinen J.,
Näyhä S.,
Taimela S.,
Niinimäki J.,
Blanco Sequeiros R.,
Tammelin T.,
Auvinen J.,
Tervonen O.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.12840
Subject(s) - medicine , confidence interval , lumbar , body mass index , odds ratio , cohort , young adult , physical therapy , population , logistic regression , demography , magnetic resonance imaging , socioeconomic status , surgery , radiology , environmental health , sociology
The relationship between different sport activities and lumbar intervertebral disk degeneration ( DD ) is largely unknown. We evaluated whether adolescent participation in different sports is associated with lumbar DD in a population‐based birth cohort of young adults. A total of 558 young adults (325 females and 233 males) underwent magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI , 1.5‐T scanner). A DD sum score, based on the Pfirrmann grading, was calculated for all lumbar levels. The sum score was categorized into no DD , 1, 2, or at least 3. Participation in different sport activities was self‐reported by postal surveys at 16, 18, and 19 years, and three groups were formed based on participation frequency in 11 sports: (a) highly active (at least twice a week), (b) moderately active (2‐4 times a month), and (c) inactive (maximum once a month). Cumulative odds ratios ( COR ) and their 95% confidence intervals ( CI ) were obtained for each sport by ordinal logistic regression, adjusting for gender, body mass index, age, socioeconomic status, smoking, and other sports. Highly active participation in jogging/running and swimming was associated with a higher DD sum score ( COR : 3.0; 95% CI : 1.4‐6.3 and 5.0; 1.7‐15.2, respectively) compared to inactive participation, whereas highly active participation in skating showed low COR . In conclusion, running and swimming at least twice a week in early adulthood are potentially associated with lumbar DD . Follow‐up studies with MRI are needed to show whether frequent exposure to running or swimming has further effect on the integrity of lumbar intervertebral disks.