Prevalence of Isthmic Lumbar Spondylolisthesis in Nondiabetic Subjects and NIDDM Patients

OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence of lumbar spondylolytic spondylolisthesis (LSS) in nondiabetic and diabetic subjects. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 1,147 randomly selected nondiabetic subjects and 892 non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) patients, 45-64 years of age. LSS was diagnosed radiographically using a lateral view of the lumbosacral spine. RESULTS: No significant difference was seen in the prevalence of LSS between nondiabetic (6.0%) and diabetic (5.7%) subjects. LSS was more frequent in nondiabetic men (7.7%) than in nondiabetic women (4.6%; P = 0.026), whereas diabetic patients showed no significant sex difference in the prevalence of LSS (men 5.6% and women 5.9%). CONCLUSIONS: NIDDM does not predispose one to lumbar spondylolisthesis. However, diabetes seems to abolish the sex difference in the prevalence of LSS observed in nondiabetic populations.