Body Mass Index in Patients with Degenerative Spondylolisthesis: A descriptive cross-sectional study.

Background Low back pain is a leading cause of disability globally. Obesity, a product of modern lifestyle, is a well-established risk factor for many diseases including spine pathologies. Degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis is a significant cause of low back pain in the middle-aged and elderly population. However, the literature on relationship between high body mass index and degenerative spondylolisthesis is inconsistent. Objective To investigate prevalence of obesity among the patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis. Method This cross-sectional study was conducted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Nepal, involving 81 patients aged ≥ 40 diagnosed with degenerative spondylolisthesis at various lumbar vertebral levels and grades. Anthropometric measurements were obtained and analyzed using an Independent t-test to compare the mean age, height, weight, and body mass index across different levels, grades, and between sexes. Result Among the 81 patients, 59 were female, and 22 were male. The mean age and, BMI were 59.41 ± 10.97 years, and 26.04 ± 4.41 kg/m2 , respectively. A notable 59.3% of patients had Body Mass Index ≥ 25. Patients with grade II spondylolisthesis exhibited significantly higher weight and Body Mass Index compared to those with grade I spondylolisthesis (p = 0.031, 0.013), particularly in female population (p = 0.003, 0.007) and at L4-L5 level (p = 0.003, 0.004). Conclusion Body mass index and weight were significantly higher in patients with grade II spondylolisthesis compared to grade I. This finding underscores the need for further research to understand the relationship between obesity and degenerative spondylolisthesis.