Ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament of the cervical spine in non-Japanese Asians

Abstract

“The Japanese disease”, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, is not confined to the Japanese only. A similar incidence of 0.8% was found in this study among non-Japanese Asians. Of 5167 patients who attended the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for cervical spine complaints, 43 patients were found to have ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, forming the largest non-Japanese series. All but one patient were of Mongolian origin, and males were affected four times more commonly than females. Diabetes mellitus was present in 16%. There was a significant association between ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament and calcification of other cervical paraspinal ligaments. It is suggested that a generalized tendency to calcification may be an important etiological factor in ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. Four of the patients required surgery, and in our experience, anterior spinal fusion with removal of the ossified ligament or multilevel laminoplasty gives satisfactory results.