Genetic association studies in lumbar disc degeneration: a systematic review

Introduction: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most disabling conditions associated with substantial socioeconomic and health care consequences. LBP is associated with lumbar disk degeneration, which is mainly accounted for genetic predisposition. The objective was to perform a systematic review to assess the level of evidence of polymorphisms associated with lumbar disk degeneration as defined on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in humans, evaluate study methods and findings to facilitate further efforts, and assess the clinical relevance of current inf....link_to_OA_fulltex