Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41555332›Full record

ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2026

The role of co-occurring obesity in the association between lumbar disc degeneration and disability related to low back pain.

Teija Mertimo, Petteri Oura, Jaro Karppinen, Jaakko Niinimäki, Roberto Blanco Sequeiros, Juhani Määttä, Markku Kankaanpää, Eveliina Heikkala

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Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Teija MertimoFaculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University Hospital and University of Tampere, P.O. Box 607, Tampere, FI-33014, Finland. teija.mertimo@gmail.com.
Petteri OuraResearch Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5000, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland.
Jaro KarppinenResearch Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5000, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland.
Jaakko NiinimäkiResearch Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5000, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland.
Roberto Blanco SequeirosResearch Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5000, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland.
Juhani MäättäResearch Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5000, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland.
Markku KankaanpääDepartment of Rehabilitation and Psychosocial Support, Tampere University Hospital, P.O. Box 2000, Tampere, FI-33521, Finland.
Eveliina HeikkalaResearch Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5000, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLow back pain (LBP) and obesity-related diseases cause a significant burden to both individuals and societies. Although not confirmed by all studies, a significant association has been found between lumbar disc degeneration (LDD) and LBP. The role of obesity in this association is not known. Our aim was to investigate whether obesity, measured by different indicators, modifies the association between LDD and LBP-related disability.

methodsA total of 1080 individuals who had experienced LBP during the previous year responded to questionnaires, participated in a clinical examination, and underwent 1.5-T lumbar magnetic resonance imaging at the age of 47. Full data were available for 842 individuals. LBP-related disability (numerical rating scale, range 0–10) was assessed as the outcome. LDD was evaluated by a Pfirrmann-based sum score (range 0–15) and was assessed as the exposure. As regards outcome and exposure, higher values reflected a greater disability or LDD burden, respectively. The role of obesity (according to five different anthropometric indicators) in the association between the LDD sum score and LBP-related disability was analysed using general linear regression models stratified by the presence of obesity. Adjustments were made for sex, smoking, education, leisure-time physical activity, occupational physical exposure, Modic changes and disc herniations.

resultsA significant positive association between LDD and LBP-related disability was observed among the individuals without obesity, regardless of the anthropometric indicator used: body mass index (adjusted beta [ß] = 0.119, 95% confidence interval [Cl] = 0.030–0.208, p = 0.009), waist circumference (0.134, 0.038–0.231, p = 0.007), body fat percentage (0.187, 0.091–0.283, p < 0.001), waist-to-height ratio (0.149, 0.064–0.235, p < 0.001), and waist-to-hip ratio (0.171, 0.067–0.275, p = 0.001). No significant associations were detected between LDD and LBP-related disability among the individuals with obesity.

conclusionsLDD is associated with LBP-related disability among individuals without obesity but not among those with obesity. Although this cross-sectional study cannot establish causality, the findings suggest that LBP-related disability may be related also to factors other than LDD burden among individuals with obesity. This study adds to the evidence that obesity may modify the association between LDD and LBP-related disability.

Indexed as

Disability EvaluationIntervertebral Disc DegenerationLow Back PainLumbar VertebraeObesityAdultFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedFinlandLow back painLumbar disc degenerationMagnetic resonance imagingNorthern Finland Birth Cohort 1966ObesityPain-related disabilityPrevalence

Identifiers

PMID41555332
PMCPMC12895865

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.