Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Dec;16(12):2043-54.
doi: 10.1007/s00586-007-0362-6. Epub 2007 May 25.

Cardiovascular and lifestyle risk factors in lumbar radicular pain or clinically defined sciatica: a systematic review

Rahman Shiri  1 , Jaro Karppinen, Päivi Leino-Arjas, Svetlana Solovieva, Helena Varonen, Eija Kalso, Olavi Ukkola, Eira Viikari-Juntura
Affiliations

Cardiovascular and lifestyle risk factors in lumbar radicular pain or clinically defined sciatica: a systematic review

Rahman Shiri et al. Eur Spine J. 2007 Dec.

Abstract

Lumbar radicular pain is a fairly common health problem, yet its risk factors are far from clear. There are no published systematic reviews on associations between cardiovascular or lifestyle risk factors and lumbar radicular pain or sciatica. The aim of this systematic literature review was to assess associations between these risk factors and lumbar radicular pain or sciatica. We conducted a systematic search of the Medline database for all original articles on lumbar radicular pain or sciatica published until August 2006. Twenty-two papers from 19 studies were included in the review. Overweight or obesity was associated with sciatica in most of the case-control and cohort studies. Some studies showed an increased risk of lumbar radicular pain in smokers with a long smoking history or in those with high levels of physical activity. A few case-control studies showed an association between serum C-reactive protein and sciatica. No consistent associations were found for serum lipids levels or high blood pressure. In summary, the associations of overweight, long smoking history, high physical activity and a high serum C-reactive protein level with lumbar radicular pain or sciatica were substantiated by the present review. However, more prospective studies are needed in order to further clarify these associations and the mechanisms of action.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1097/00002517-199410000-00001', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1097/00002517-199410000-00001'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '7819635', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7819635/'}]}
    2. An HS, Silveri CP, Simpson JM, File P, Simmons C, Simeone FA, Balderston RA (1994) Comparison of smoking habits between patients with surgically confirmed herniated lumbar and cervical disc disease and controls. J Spinal Disord 7:369–373 - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '7593075', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7593075/'}]}
    2. Battie MC, Haynor DR, Fisher LD, Gill K, Gibbons LE, Videman T (1995) Similarities in degenerative findings on magnetic resonance images of the lumbar spines of identical twins. J Bone Joint Surg Am 77:1662–1670 - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1097/00007632-199109000-00001', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1097/00007632-199109000-00001'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '1948392', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1948392/'}]}
    2. Battie MC, Videman T, Gill K, Moneta GB, Nyman R, Kaprio J, Koskenvuo M (1991) Volvo Award in clinical sciences. Smoking and lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration: an MRI study of identical twins. Spine 16:1015–1021 - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1161/01.RES.0000163635.62927.34', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1161/01.res.0000163635.62927.34'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '15890981', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15890981/'}]}
    2. Berg AH, Scherer PE (2005) Adipose tissue, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease. Circ Res 96:939–949 - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1097/00007632-198506000-00008', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1097/00007632-198506000-00008'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '2931834', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2931834/'}]}
    2. Biering-Sorensen F, Hansen FR, Schroll M, Runeborg O (1985) The relation of spinal X-ray to low-back pain and physical activity among 60-year-old men and women. Spine 10:445–451 - PubMed

Publication types