[Radiographic examination of the lumbar spine in Greenlanders]

X-ray examinations of the lumbar spine from a two-year period in 268 Greenlanders and an equivalent number of danes were reviewed in order to diagnose all radiological lesions. Twenty-five percent of the X-ray examinations of the Greenlanders and 28% of the Danes showed normal conditions. Eighteen percent of the Greenlanders and 3% of the Danes had evident sacroliitis. Four Greenlanders and one Dane had radiological ankylosing spondylitis. The high frequency of sacroiliitis can probably be explained by the genetic structure of the population and the pattern of infections. Spondylolisthesis was found in 24% of the Greenlanders, confirming previous findings. Degenerative lesions, fractures, developmental anomalies and Scheuermann's disease were equally frequent in the two populations, while scolioses were less frequent among the Greenlanders than among the Danes.