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Overweight children may develop back pain and spinal abnormalities

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Overweight children may develop back pain and spinal abnormalities

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/rson-ocm112409.php

CHICAGO – Being overweight as a child could lead to early degeneration in the

spine, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the

Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

" This is the first study to show an association between increased body mass

index (BMI) and disc abnormalities in children, " said the study's lead author,

Judah G. Burns, M.D., fellow in diagnostic neuroradiology at The Children's

Hospital at Montefiore in New York City.

In this retrospective study, Dr. Burns and colleagues reviewed MR images of the

spines of 188 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 20 who complained of back

pain and were imaged at the hospital over a four-year period. Trauma and other

conditions that would predispose children to back pain were eliminated from the

study.

The images revealed that 98 (52.1 percent) of the patients had some abnormality

in the lower, or lumbar, spine. Most of those abnormalities occurred within the

discs, which are sponge-like cushions in between the bones of the spine. Disc

disease occurs when a bulging or ruptured disc presses on nerves, causing pain

or weakness.

" In children, back pain is usually attributed to muscle spasm or sprain, " Dr.

Burns said. " It is assumed that disc disease does not occur in children, but my

experience says otherwise. "

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 percent of U.S.

children (age 6 – 11) and 18 percent of U.S. adolescents (age 12 -19) are

overweight. BMI, a mathematical ratio of body weight and height, is a widely

used measurement for obesity. Lower BMI is associated with being underweight or

a healthy body size; higher BMI scores are associated with being overweight or

obese. Children above the 85th percentile are generally classified as overweight

or at risk of being overweight.

The researchers were able to determine an age-adjusted BMI for 106 of the total

188 patients. Fifty-four had BMI greater than the 75th percentile for age.

Thirty-seven (68.5 percent) of these children showed abnormal findings on their

spine MRI. Fifty-two patients fell into the lowest three quartiles. Only 18

(34.6 percent) of the children at or below a healthy weight had an abnormal MRI

of the spine.

" We observed a trend toward increased spine abnormality with higher BMI, " Dr.

Burns said. " These results demonstrate a strong relationship between increased

BMI in the pediatric population and the incidence of lumbar disc disease. "

According to Dr. Burns, data revealed in the study could signal a significant

public health problem given the health costs of back pain in the U.S.

" Back pain causes significant morbidity in adults, affecting quality of life and

the ability to be productive, " he said.

###

Co-authors are Amichai J. Erdfarb, M.D., Jordana Schneider, Ginsburg,

B.A., Taragin, M.D., and L. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D.

Note: Copies of RSNA 2009 news releases and electronic images will be available

online at RSNA.org/press09 beginning Monday, Nov. 30.

RSNA is an association of more than 44,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists,

medical physicists and related scientists committed to excellence in patient

care through education and research. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Ill.

(RSNA.org)

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