TABLE 1.
Summary of patient characteristics
| Patient characteristic | Grade 2 (n = 10) | Grade 3 (n = 10) | Grade 4 (n = 10) | Grade 5 (n = 7) | P‐valuê |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 36.5 ± 7.0 | 36.6 ± 6.6 | 37.4 ± 7.5 | 48.4 ± 6.8 | 0.0014 |
| BMI | 142.2 ± 51 | 101.5 ± 37 | 92.8 ± 17 | 103 ± 29 | 0.4770 |
| Height (cm) | 116.8 ± 49 | 152 ± 47 | 175 ± 6.4 | 163 ± 45 | 0.2534 |
| Sex (m:f) | 9:1 | 9:1 | 10:0 | 7:0 | 0.6442 |
| Disc pathology | — | — | — | — | 1.82E−06 |
| None | 90.0% | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Herniation | 0.0% | 20.0% | 70.0% | 57.1% | — |
| Spondylosis | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10.0% | 28.6% | — |
| Stenosis | 10.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 14.3% | |
| Disc level | — | — | — | — | 0.0241 |
| L3L4 | 70.0% | 30.0% | 10.0% | 0.0% | — |
| L4L5 | 10.0% | 60.0% | 40.0% | 28.6% | — |
| L5S1 | 20.0% | 10.0% | 50.0% | 71.4% | — |
Note: Ten IVDs from each degeneration grade were randomly chosen from the 21 patients. Randomization could not be applied for grade 5 because only 7 IVDs were available. IVDs included in this study represent levels between L3L4 and L5S1 due to image artifacts that distorted higher levels, that is, L1L2 and L2L3. The table also consists of each patient's age and IVD pathology condition. ^P‐values reported are from one‐way ANOVA or Kruskal‐Wallis when data were parametric or nonparametric, respectively.