Degenerative spondylolisthesis in ancient and historic skeletons from New Mexico Pueblo sites.

The objective of this study was to identify the presence of degenerative spondyloolisthesis in adult Native American skeletons recovered from prehistoric and historic Pueblo sites in New Mexico. The vertebral columns of 491 individuals that were complete enough to allow the necessary observations produced 64 cases, with a total of 74 affected levels. The L5-S1 level was affected most frequently (78%), in contrast to clinical and anatomical studies where the L4-L5 level was usually affected (80%). Age and sex were found to be important factors, with the condition limited to middle and old adults, and occurring in females over males at a ratio of approximately 5:1. Oolisthesis was shown to occur only in association with severe osteoarthritis of the zygapophysial joints, but severe osteoarthritis did not always result in olisthesis, particularly in males. Parallel or convergent inferior articular processes were found to increase in frequency in the presence of oolisthesis, apparently resulting from degenerative remodeling that produced the oolisthesis. The data also suggest that individuals with cranial border shifting in the column may be especially prone to oolisthesis. Degenerative oolisthesis was also observed in the cervical region. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.