Objective To investigate the correlation between cervical Modic change (MC) and blood lipid and glucose levels. Methods Patients hospitalized with neck and shoulder pain in the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College between January 2015 and January 2021 were selected and divided into MC group and non-MC group according to whether the signal changes of cervical vertebral endplate occurred on MRI. The general data (age, gender, smoking history, drinking history), blood lipid indicators (high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, lipoprotein a, total cholesterol, triglyceride) and blood glucose indicators (glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose) were compared between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore the correlation between MC and various indicators. Results A total of 160 patients were included, including 48 patients in MC group and 112 patients in non-MC group. The age [(61.46±12.10) vs. (56.22±10.65) years], total cholesterol [(5.06±1.17) vs. (4.44±1.31) mmol/L], triglyceride [(1.61±0.64) vs. (1.38±0.58) mmol/L], glycosylated hemoglobin (6.78%±1.27% vs. 5.79%±0.85%), and fasting blood glucose [(7.84±1.51) vs. (6.93±1.47) mmol/L] of the patients in MC group were significantly higher than those in non-MC group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in gender, smoking ratio, drinking ratio, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein or lipoprotein a between the two groups (P>0.05). Logistic regression analysisshowed that age [odds ratio (OR)=1.064, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.022, 1.109), P=0.003], total cholesterol [OR=1.788, 95%CI (1.187, 2.694), P=0.005], triglyceride [OR=2.624, 95%CI (1.257, 5.479), P=0.010] and glycosylated hemoglobin [OR=4.942, 95%CI (2.446, 9.987), P<0.001] were risk factors of cervical MC. Conclusions Age, total cholesterol, triglyceride and glycosylated hemoglobin are risk factors of cervical MC. Elderly patients with hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia should be alert to the occurrence of cervical MC. Controlling the levels of blood lipid and glucose may reduce the risk of cervical MC.
