A retrospective statistical analysis of the epidemiology of the congenital lumbar stenosis among the Jewish and Arab populations in Israel

: Congenital spinal lumbar stenosis is defined according to the midsagittal diameter of the lumbar spine. We conducted a retrospective statistical analysis of the results of 998 computer tomography studies of the lumbar spine as they were interpreted by the same author (E.N.). We showed particular interest in the measurement of midsagittal diameters aiming to reach conclusions regarding the difference in the frequency of congenital lumbar stenosis among the various ethnic groups in Israel. The population examined included 517 patients of Arab origin (51.8%) and 481 patients of Jewish origin (48.2%), the combined average age of both examined populations was 44.8 years (range 5.0-83 years), and the distribution according to gender combined for both populations was 55.7% male and 44.3% female. We found a statistically significant higher prevalence of midsagittal (congenital) stenosis at L3 and L5 among the Arab population but that was not confirmed for the other lumbar vertebrae.