Fruits, cereals, fish help protect against lumbar spinal stenosis

Adoption of a diet rich in fruits, cereals, and fish confers benefit for the risk of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), whereas the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in greater amounts is associated with a risk increase, a study suggests.

Researchers enrolled patients from the Neurosurgery Department of the IRCCS Neuromed, Italy, to examine the relationship of a Mediterranean diet (MD), its major food components, and UPF with the risk of LSS.

The study population comprised 156 patients with LSS and 312 individuals identified from the general population who had no history or clinical evidence of LSS. These two groups were matched for sex, age, and physical activity.

Adherence to MD was evaluated using the MD Score based on nine food groups. UPF, which was defined according to the NOVA classification, was estimated as the ratio (%) of UPF (g/d) on total food consumed (g/d).

Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that a 2-point increase in the MD score contributed no increase in the risk of LSS (odds ratio [OR], 1.02, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.72–1.46).

However, each 10-g/d increment in the intake of fruits and nuts, cereals, or fish translated to lower odds of LSS (OR, 0.97, 95 percent CI, 0.95–0.99; OR, 0.88, 95 percent CI, 0.82–0.94; and OR, 0.87, 95 percent CI, 0.76–0.99, respectively).

Conversely, the odds of LSS increased by 9 percent for each 1-percent increment in the consumption of UPF in the diet (OR, 1.09, 95 percent CI, 1.04–1.14).

More studies with a prospective design and larger sample sizes are needed to validate the findings.