Degenerative Changes of the Lumbosacral Spine on Magnetic Resonance Imaging and its Associated Selective Risk Factors at Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar

Disc degeneration marked by structural and functional alteration, presents a significant health concern, often leading to pain, discomfort, and immobility. The study aimed to find the relation between disc degenerative diseases with age, gender, and occupation using MRI as a diagnostic tool. This study was a cross-sectional study carried out at HMC, Peshawar. Patients who came to the Radiology department with lower back pain were included in our study. Data were collected through a written questionnaire including three sections (demographic section, patient-related questions, and questions related to MR personnel). In this study, data from 338 patients who were clinically diagnosed with disc degenerative diseases were analyzed. The study consisted of 175 male and 163 female participants. We found that the most affected age group by disc degenerative changes was 40-60 years (41%). Males (n=175) were more prone to disc degenerative diseases than females (163). Among disc degenerative diseases disc bulging was the most common disease and housewives were the most common occupation. Our findings suggest that among patients with disc degenerative changes between the ages of 40 and 60, disc bulging was more common in women than in men. Patients aged between 20 to 40 with disc desiccation, were more likely to be female than male. Women had a higher prevalence of spinal stenosis than men between the ages of 40 to 60. In contrast, disc herniation was more common in men between the ages of 20 to 40. Men had more disc protrusion than women between the ages of 20 and 40, while men had more disc extrusion between the ages of 40 and 60 than women. Based on our findings, we determined that males were more prone to disc degenerative alterations than females, and the most affected spinal levels were L4-L5 and L5-S1. Finally, we found that disc bulging is the most frequent spinal disease, followed by disc desiccation and spinal stenosis.