Ethnic variations of selected cervical spine radiographic parameters of males in KwaZulu-Natal

Introduction: Radiographic parameters of the cervical spine are utilized by chiropractors and spinal surgeons for making diagnoses and determining management protocols. However several researchers have reported discrepancies in these parameters which need to be investigated across ethnic groups and gender. Aim: To evaluate the normal selected cervical spine radiographic parameters i.e. the cervical lordosis (CL), sagittal canal diameter (SCD), interpedicular distance (IPD), and the cervical gravity line (CGL) in apparently healthy young to middle-aged males across four ethnic groups in Durban, KwaZulu Natal. Participants: Eighty healthy male participants between 18 and 45 years of age of White, Black, Indian and Coloured ethnicity. Methodology: A case history, physical examination and an orthopedic assessment of the cervical spine was conducted for each participant. Study-specific data such as age, ethnicity, weight and height were recorded. A lateral and an A-P radiograph of the cervical spine was taken of each participant. Selected radiographic parameters viz. SCD, IPD, CL, CGL were assessed and recorded. SPSS version 15.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA) was used for data analysis. Results: The mean (± SD) values of the CL, SCD and IPD are shown in the table below for the respective ethnic groups Parameter Ethnic Group Black (Mean (± SD)) White(Mean (± SD)) Indian(Mean (± SD)) Coloured (Mean (± SD)) CL° (C1-C7 method) 42.6° (± 9.6°) 46.2° (± 11.0°) 46.5° (± 11.3°) 47.7° (± 9.1°) CL° (C2-C7 method) 15.1° (± 6.4°) 17.4° (± 9.3°) 13.1° (± 10.2°) 18.1° (± 10.4°) SCD (mm) C2 22.1mm (± 1.6) 24.1mm (± 1.4) 22.8mm (± 1.7) 22.9mm (± 1.5) C3 19.5mm (± 1.6) 20.6mm (± 1.4) 19.7mm (± 1.6) 20.0mm (± 1.5) C4 18.6mm (± 1.9) 19.9mm (± 1.3) 19.1mm (± 1.6) 19.5mm (± 1.3) C5 18.9mm (± 1.8) 20.0mm (± 1.5) 19.3mm (± 1.7) 19.8mm (± 1.6) C6 18.8mm (± 1.7) 20.4mm (± 1.5) 19.5mm (± 1.6) 20.0mm (± 1.8) iv C7 18.5mm (± 1.7) 20.3mm (± 1.5) 19.4mm (± 1.6) 19.7mm (± 1.9) IPD (mm) C3 28.2mm (± 1.2) 28.9mm (± 1.8) 27.8mm (± 1.1) 29.1mm (± 1.4) C4 28.6mm (± 1.4) 29.6mm (± 1.8) 28.5mm (± 1.4) 29.5mm (± 1.6) C5 29.4mm (± 1.2) 30.0mm (± 1.7) 28.8mm (± 1.2) 30.1mm (± 1.5) C6 29.3mm (± 1.6) 30.7mm (± 1.6) 30.0mm (± 1.6) 30.1mm (± 1.5) C7 29.3mm (± 1.2) 30.1mm (± 1.5) 29.6mm (± 1.6) 30.3mm (± 1.9) There was anterior placement of the CGL in 60% of the Black ethnic group, 45% of the White ethnic group, 55.6% of the Indian ethnic group and 52.6% of the Coloured ethnic group. No significant differences in mean CL was observed across the four ethnic groups for both methods utilized (p > 0.05). The significant differences in SCD lay between the White and Black ethnic groups at C2, C6 and C7 (p = 0.002, 0.030 and 0.017, respectively, ANOVA). The C3 and C5 IPD varied significantly between the Coloured and Indian ethnic group (p = 0.048 and 0.027, respectively, ANOVA). The CGL was not influenced by the CL in all the ethnic groups. Conclusion: Significant differences were observed between ethnic groups for the SCD and IPD. These will assist South African health care practitioners with patient management within these ethnic groups when diagnosing spinal stenosis and tumors. A larger South African based population should be evaluated to confirm the trends observed utilizing digitized diagnostic imaging modalities including radiographs, CT and MRI scans as errors may occur during manual assessment of conventional radiographs.