The Prevalence and Characteristics of Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH): A Cross-Sectional Study of 1519 Japanese Individuals

Hisanori Ikuma; Tomohiko Hirose; Dai Nakamura; Kazutaka Yamashita; Masataka Ueda; Kazuhiro Sasaki; Keisuke Kawasaki

doi:10.3390/diagnostics12051088

The Prevalence and Characteristics of Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH): A Cross-Sectional Study of 1519 Japanese Individuals

Diagnostics (Basel). 2022 Apr 27;12(5):1088. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics12051088.

Authors

Hisanori Ikuma¹, Tomohiko Hirose¹, Dai Nakamura¹, Kazutaka Yamashita¹, Masataka Ueda¹, Kazuhiro Sasaki², Keisuke Kawasaki¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kagawa Prefectural Central Hospital, 2-1, Asahi-Machi 1-Chome, Takamatsu 760-8557, Japan.
² Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Kagawa Prefectural Central Hospital, 2-1, Asahi-Machi 1-Chome, Takamatsu 760-8557, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a pathology characterized by enthesis ossification, but there have been few reports on epidemiological surveys. This report presents a cross-sectional survey of DISH from thoracic to sacral spine in patients at the tertiary emergency medical center. Methods: The patients were divided into DISH (+) group and DISH (−) group for a retrospective comparative study. The primary outcome measures were the frequency of DISH and the patient demographic data, the secondary outcome measures were the previous medical history (diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease), the extent of aortic calcification, the frequency of hyperostosis around the costovertebral joint and the mortality rate within 3 months of the initial examination. Results: This survey examined a total of 1519 patients. There were 265 cases (17.4%) in the DISH (+) group and 1254 cases in DISH (−) group. The prevalence of DISH was concentrated at the thoracolumbar junction, particularly at T9. The mean age, ratio of male and hyperostosis around the costovertebral joint were significantly higher in the DISH (+) group (p < 0.001), but there was no significant difference in other variables. Conclusions: The pathology of DISH might involve the effects of age-related changes or biomechanical effects.

Keywords: Japanese individuals; costovertebral joint; diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis; hyperostosis; prevalence.

Grants and funding

No specific funding was received from any bodies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors to carry out the work described in this manuscript.