Predictive Factors Associated with Chronic Neck Pain in Patients with Cervical Degenerative Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Xinjian Kang,1,2 Man Qian,3 Mingli Liu,2 Haiwei Xu,4 Baoshan Xu4 1Department of Orthopedics, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 2Tianjin Medical University, Graduate School, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Refractive Surgery, Qinhuangdao Aier Ophthalmic Hospital, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Baoshan Xu, Department of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, No. 406 Jiefangnan Road, Hexi District, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13502028198, Fax +86- 22 -28241184, Email baoshanxu99@tmu.edu.cnPurpose: To explore the predictive factors of neck pain (NP) in patients with cervical degenerative disease by retrospectively analyzing their occupational and demographic characteristics and to provide a valuable reference for preventing and treating chronic NP.Patients and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the occupational and demographic data of patients with cervical degenerative disease who had undergone anterior cervical surgery between June 2021 and December 2022 at our center. The patients were divided into NP and no-NP groups based on whether they had chronic NP before surgery. Relevant occupational and demographic data from all patients were statistically analyzed, and all variables were made categorical. Forward stepwise logistic regression models were constructed for preoperative chronic neck pain to explore the possible risk factors associated with chronic neck pain.Results: The differences in smoking, being an office worker, BMI, and disease types between NP and no-NP groups were statistically significant. In contrast, there were no statistically significant in age, sex, academic level, duration, and degeneration grade between the two groups. Moreover, further logistic regression analysis indicated that smoking, being an office worker, having an abnormal BMI, and cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR) were related to chronic neck pain.Conclusion: The present study indicated that smoking, being an office worker, having an abnormal BMI, and CSR were predisposing risk factors for NP associated with cervical degenerative disease. Although intervertebral disc degeneration is the pathology basis of NP, the degeneration grade was not related to the occurrence of NP in our current study. Therefore, quitting smoking, avoiding sedentariness, and maintaining a normal BMI may prevent NP to some extent.Keywords: discogenic pain, radiating pain, musculoskeletal disorder, intervertebral disc degeneration