Turkish Journal of
GERIATRICS

İstanbul Üniversitesi, Cerrahpaşa Tıp Fakültesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon A.D. Prof.Dr.
İstanbul Üniversitesi, Cerrahpaşa Tıp Fakültesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon A.D. Asist.Dr
Siyami Ersek Göğüs ve Kalp Damar Cerrahisi Merkezi, İstanbul
İstanbul Üniversitesi, Cerrahpaşa Tıp Fakültesi, Halk ve Çevre Sağlığı A.D., İstanbul Comorbidity indicates both the existence of the other states and the disease under treatment and study. This study is planned to find out the possible benefits and harms of the treatment as well as to determine the relationship between lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and atherosclerotic vascular disease (ASVD) regarded as an inflammatory process, diabetes mellitus (DM) with risk factors for atherosclerosis, hypercholesterolemia (HC) and hypertension (HT) existences. We included 38 patients with LSS and 38 patients with lumbar spondilosis (LS) as control group. We reported exact history [DM, HT, HC, ASVD, medicine usage, complaints of pain, complaints of the neurogenic intermittant claudication (NIC) ] for all the patients, and physical inspection (walking distances, lumbar area inspection, vascular inspection) was made both at the beginning and after the treatment. Radiological and laboratory determinations were demanded. In LSS group, DM (p=0,024) and HT (p=0,006) observed more frequently than the control group. The HC (p=0,488) and ASVD (p=0,057) frequency between 2 groups were not significantly different. As a result, we can say that there is a direct relationship between LSS and DM also between LSS and HT. Moreover, due to the ASVD risk in those diseases, the existence of ASDH should be searched in LSS patients, because NIC is seen frequently in patients with LSS whereas patients with ASVD often presents with vascular claudication. It is necessary both to detect the etiological cause of the leg pain which occurs during walking and to arrange treatment according to this cause. Co existence of these two diseases (LSS and ASVD) changes the treatment and worsens the prognosis. For that reason, it will be helpful for us to know whether these diseases affect the clinical progress of LSS or response to treatment. Keywords : Lumbar spinal stenosis, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerotic vascular disease, comorbidity.