Disparities in Surgical Intervention and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Racial/Ethnic Groups With Degenerative Lumbar Spondylolisthesis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Racial and socioeconomic disparities in spine surgery for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis persist in the United States, potentially contributing to unequal health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes. This is important as lumbar spondylolisthesis is one of the most common causes of surgical low back pain, and low back pain is the largest disabler of individuals worldwide. Our objective was to assess the relationship between race, socioeconomic factors, treatment utilization, and outcomes in patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis. METHODS: This cohort study analyzed prospectively collected data from 9941 patients diagnosed with lumbar spondylolisthesis between 2015 and 2020 at 5 academic hospitals. Exposures were race, socioeconomic status, health coverage, and HRQoL measures. Main outcomes and measures included treatment utilization rates between racial groups and the association between race and treatment outcomes using logistic regression, adjusting for patient characteristics, socioeconomic status, health coverage, and HRQoL measures. RESULTS: Of the 9941 patients included (mean [SD] age, 67.37 [12.40] years; 63% female; 1101 [11.1%] Black, Indigenous, and People of Color [BIPOC]), BIPOC patients were significantly less likely to use surgery than White patients (odds ratio [OR] = 0.68; 95% CI, 0.62-0.75). Furthermore, BIPOC race was associated with significantly lower odds of reaching the minimum clinically important difference for physical function (OR = 0.74; 95% CI, 0.60; 0.91) and pain interference (OR = 0.77; 95% CI, 0.62-0.97). Medicaid beneficiaries were significantly less likely (OR = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.46-0.92) to reach a clinically important improvement in HRQoL when accounting for race. CONCLUSION: This study found that BIPOC patients were less likely to use spine surgery for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis despite reporting higher pain interference, suggesting an association between race and surgical utilization. These disparities may contribute to unequal HRQoL outcomes for patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis and warrant further investigation to address and reduce treatment disparities.