Effects of Blood Hemoglobin Levels on Vertebral Discal Degeneration

INTRODUCTION: Vertebral discopathies are one of the most important causes of low back pain, which is very common in the community. Although there are many biochemical and mechanical causes of discogenic low back pain, the most important is discal degeneration. Many studies have been conducted suggesting that disc degeneration could be associated with various factors. In our study, we aimed to reveal a possible relationship between disc degeneration and levels of hemoglobin (HGB).
METHODS: We investigated the connection between discal degeneration and certain parameters, especially HGB levels, in a total of 174 patients in two separate groups; those with and without disc degeneration. Age, weight, height, body mass index, chronic diseases, mean HGB, hematocrit (HTC) level, white blood cell (WBC), high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglyceride (TG) values of the patients were recorded.
RESULTS: No significant difference was detected (p>0.05) between the groups with and without degeneration in terms of HGB, HTC, WBC, and LDL values. The TG level in the group with disc degeneration was significantly (p<0.05) higher than the group without disc degeneration.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Lumbar disc degeneration is a public health problem that continues to be discussed in the lit-erature. There was no significant difference in terms of HGB levels between the groups, with and without degenerated disc.