Abstract
Radiographs of 1728 outpatients (mean age, 54.6 years ; range, 15 to 99) taken from 1995 to 2000. in our institution were examined for age, sex, level, direction, degree of slip and lumbar lordosis. We excluded cases with lumbar spinal compression fracture and degenerative lumbar scoliosis (over 10 degrees) and postoperative lumbar spine. Three surgeons independently read the radiographs.
Spondylolytic spondylolisthesis was found in 63 (3.6%) of the patients, and it occurred at the L5 in 71.4% of them. Its frequency was equal in both sexes. Degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis was found in 140 (8.1%) of the patients and in 66.4% of them, it occurred at the L4 level. It was more common in elderly women than men by a ratio of 3 : 1. Lumbar retrolisthesis was found in 119 (6.9%) of the patients, and in 72.5% of them, it occurred at the L2 and L3 levels. It was more common in the elderly patients and the frequency was equal in both sexes.
Almost all of the cases of anterolisthesis were seen in the lower lumbar spine, but the cases of retrolisthesis were seen in the L2 and L3 levels in this series.
