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
. 2025 Apr;34(4):1359-1365.
doi: 10.1007/s00586-025-08751-x. Epub 2025 Mar 5.

Age-related prevalence of radiographic lumbar spondylolisthesis and its associations with low back pain, walking speed, and muscle index: findings from the second survey of the ROAD study

Satoshi Arita  1 , Yuyu Ishimoto  2 , Hiroshi Hashizume  1 , Keiji Nagata  1 , Masatoshi Teraguchi  1 , Shigeyuki Muraki  3 , Hiroyuki Oka  4 , Masanari Takami  1 , Shunji Tsutsui  1 , Hiroshi Iwasaki  1 , Toshiko Iidaka  3 , Toru Akune  5 , Hiroshi Kawaguchi  6 , Sakae Tanaka  7 , Kozo Nakamura  8 , Munehito Yoshida  9 , Noriko Yoshimura  3 , Hiroshi Yamada  1 ; Consortium
Affiliations

Age-related prevalence of radiographic lumbar spondylolisthesis and its associations with low back pain, walking speed, and muscle index: findings from the second survey of the ROAD study

Satoshi Arita et al. Eur Spine J. 2025 Apr.

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of lumbar spondylolisthesis (LS) and its association with low back pain, walking speed, grip strength, and muscle mass in the general population.

Methods: Participants included 1551 members of the general population from the 2nd ROAD (Research on Osteoarthritis/osteoporosis Against Disability) study conducted in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, between 2008 and 2010. Lumbar radiography diagnosed LS when the slip was ≥ 3 mm in the lateral views. Logistic regression analysis (adjusted for sex, age, area, and BMI) assessed the association between LS and low back pain, walking speed, grip strength, and appendicular lean mass.

Results: Complete data from 1522 participants (510 men, 1012 women, mean age 65.7 ± 12.2 years) were analyzed. The prevalence of LS increases with age, with an estimated one in five men aged 80 years or older and one in four women aged 70-79 years affected. Logistic regression showed LS was significantly associated with low back pain (OR: 1.36, CI: 1.03-1.80). Walking speed, grip strength, and appendicular lean mass were not significantly associated with LS. The prevalence of LS at any level was 17.4% in the total sample, 13.3% in men, and 19.5% in women (P = 0.005).

Conclusion: LS was prevalent in 17.4% of the general population, with a higher prevalence in women. Patients with LS had more low back pain than those without LS.

Keywords: Appendicular lean mass; Low back pain; Lumbar spondylolisthesis; Prevalence; Walking speed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: The study was conducted with the approval of the ethics committee of our university and in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964. Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. Consent to participate: All patients were required to provide written informed consent prior to participation. Consent for publication: All author had consent for publication. Conflict of interest: The authors declare there is no conflict of interests.

References

    1. Yoshihara H (2020) Pathomechanisms and predisposing factors for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis. JBJS Rev 8(9):1–6. https://doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.RVW.20.00013 - DOI
    1. Aono K, Kobayashi T, Jimbo S, Atsuta Y, Matsuno T (2010) Radiographic analysis of newly developed degenerative spondylolisthesis in a mean 12-year prospective study. Spine 35(8):887–891. https://doi.org/10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181c7c5f5 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Jacobsen S, Sonne-Holm S, Rovsing H, Monard H, Gebuhr P (2007) Degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis. An epidemiological perspective. The Copenhagen osteoarthritis study. Spine 32(1):120–125. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.brs.0000251097.29400.37 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kauppila LI, Eustace S, Kiel DP, Felton DT, Wright AM (1998) Degenerative displacement of lumbar vertebrae. A 25-year follow-up study in Framingham. Spine 23(17):1868–1873. https://doi.org/10.1097/00007632-199809010-00013 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Vogt MT, Rubin D, Valentin RS, Palermo L, Donaldson WF III, Nevitt M et al (1998) Lumbar olisthesis and lower back symptoms in elderly white women. The study of osteoporotic fractures. Spine 23(23):2640–2647. https://doi.org/10.1097/00007632-199812010-00011 - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources