Abstract：
Spinal canal dimensions may vary according to ethnicity as reported values differ among studies in European and Chinese populations. Here, we studied the change in the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the osseous lumbar spinal canal measured in subjects from three ethnic groups born 70 years apart and established reference values for our local population. This retrospective study included a total of 1050 subjects born between 1930 and 1999 stratified by birth decade. All subjects underwent lumbar spine computed tomography (CT) as a standardized imaging procedure following trauma. Three independent observers measured the CSA of the osseous lumbar spinal canal at the L2 and L4 pedicle levels. Lumbar spine CSA was smaller at both L2 and L4 in subjects born in later generations (p < 0.001; p = 0.001). This difference reached significance for patients born three to five decades apart. This was also true within two of the three ethnic subgroups. Patient height was very weakly correlated with the CSA at both L2 and L4 (r = 0.109, p = 0.005; r = 0.116, p = 0.002). The interobserver reliability of the measurements was good. This study confirms the decrease of osseous lumbar spinal canal dimensions across decades in our local population.
摘要：
椎管尺寸可能因种族而异，因为欧洲和中国人群的研究报告值不同。这里,我们研究了在相隔70年出生的三个种族的受试者中测量的骨腰椎管横截面积（CSA）的变化，并为我们的当地人群建立了参考值。这项回顾性研究包括1930年至1999年之间出生的1050名受试者，按出生十年进行分层。创伤后，所有受试者均接受腰椎计算机断层扫描（CT）作为标准化成像程序。三个独立的观察者在L2和L4椎弓根水平测量了骨腰椎管的CSA。在后代出生的受试者中，腰椎CSA在L2和L4处均较小（p<0.001；p=0.001）。这种差异对于相隔三到五十年出生的患者具有重要意义。在三个种族亚群体中的两个中也是如此。患者身高与L2和L4的CSA的相关性非常弱（r=0.109，p=0.005；r=0.116，p=0.002）。测量的观察者间可靠性良好。这项研究证实了数十年来我们当地人口的骨腰椎椎管尺寸的减少。
