Prevalence of Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis in the General Elderly Population: A Japanese Cohort Survey Randomly Sampled From a Basic Resident Registry.

STUDY DESIGN: This is a Japanese resident cohort study based on a municipal registry.

OBJECTIVES: In this study of an aged Japanese population, we used random sampling from the basic resident registry of a rural town for subject selection to investigate the prevalence of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) and effect of subject-related factors.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND: DISH is a condition characterized by the calcification and ossification of soft tissues. Interest is mounting on DISH as the elderly rate increases, but its pathogenetic mechanism remains unknown.

DATA: A total of 413 aged people randomly sampled from the resident registry of Obuse town.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We established 8 groups on the basis of age (50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s) and sex after random sampling from the resident registry of Obuse town. A total of 411 participants (202 male and 209 female) were enrolled and underwent a single whole-spine lateral radiographic examination. We assessed for the existence of DISH and analyzed the effects of clinical factors using multivariate analysis.

RESULTS: A total of 72 (17.5%) participants were identified to have DISH in our population cohort. The prevalence of DISH tended to increase with age, being 3.1% in subjects in their 50s, 14.0% in their 60s, 24.3% in their 70s, and 29.0% in their 80s. According to multivariate analysis, hypertension (HT), male, bone mineral density (BMD), and aging were independent factors associated with DISH. The odds ratios of HT, male, and BMD were 1.93, 2.88, and 19.1, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study examining DISH in detail according to age and sex groups on a general population basis. Multivariate analysis revealed HT, male, BMD, and aging to be independent factors associated with DISH in the healthy community-dwelling elderly.