Trends and patterns of thoracic intervertebral disc degeneration in symptomatic subjects: a magnetic resonance imaging analysis

This study aimed to analyse the trends and patterns of IVD degeneration in different age groups at each level of the thoracic spine. This cross-sectional MRI study included 1000 symptomatic patients who had undergone upright thoracic spine MRI. A total of 13,000 thoracic IVDs from C7/T1 to T12/L1 were classified into five grades using Pfirrmann classification. Patients were divided according to their ages into five groups (n = 200/group). The severity and pattern of IVD degeneration were analysed in each age group. A predictive model of the severity and pattern of IVD degeneration in each age group was proposed. The total grade of IVD degeneration and the number of degenerated levels increased with increasing age (P