Objective: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common disease with an incidence rate of approximately 8% worldwide. Type 2 diabetes can lead to various complications in major organs and lead to degenerative changes in the organs. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of diabetes on the occurrence of degenerative changes in the lumbar spine disc on MRI.
Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, the medical records of 100 patients with lumbar spine disc referred to Golestan Hospital, Ahvaz in 1403 were reviewed. Eligible patients were divided into two groups: one group of patients with degenerative spinal disc with diabetes and the other group of patients with degenerative spinal disc without diabetes. All patients underwent MRI and the effect of diabetes on degenerative changes in the lumbar spine disc was investigated.
Results: Of the 100 patients studied, 51% were female and 49% were male, 35% were smokers, and only 7% consumed alcohol. There was no significant difference between age and height in the diabetic and non-diabetic groups, but there was a significant difference between weight, BMI, disc height, and Pfirrmann_score in the diabetic and non-diabetic groups. In multivariate regression, there was a significant relationship between age, smoking, alcohol, Disk_height, and Pfirmann_score.
Conclusion: Disc height and Pfirrmann score were significantly different in the diabetic and non-diabetic groups, and patients with diabetes had more lumbar spine disorders compared to control subjects. Further studies with a larger sample size are recommended to confirm these results.