The impact of body mass index on one-year mortality after spinal cord injury

Obesity in wheelchair users with long-standing spinal cord injury: prevalence and associations with time since injury and physical activity

STUDY DESIGN

Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the ALLRISC cohort study.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the prevalence of obesity and its association with time since injury (TSI) and physical activity (PA) in wheelchair users with long-standing (TSI > 10 years) spinal cord injury (SCI).

SETTING

Community, The Netherlands.

METHODS

Wheelchair users with SCI (N = 282) in TSI strata (10-19, 20-29, and ≥30 years) and divided in meeting SCI-specific exercise guidelines or not. Waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) were assessed. Participants were classified as being obese (WC > 102 cm for men, WC > 88 cm for women; BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) or not. Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the associations between obesity and TSI and PA.

RESULTS

Almost half of the participants (45-47%) were classified as obese. TSI was significantly associated with obesity, the odds of being obese were 1.4 higher when having a 10 years longer TSI. Furthermore, the odds of being obese were 2.0 lower for participants who were meeting the exercise guidelines.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of obesity is high in people with long-standing SCI. Those with a longer TSI and individuals who do not meet the exercise guidelines are more likely to be obese and need to be targeted for weight management interventions.

Relationship of cardiometabolic disease risk factors with age and spinal cord injury duration

CONTEXT/OBJECTIVES

Cardiometabolic disease (CMD) is increased after spinal cord injury (SCI), with an increased number of CMD risk factors that relate to higher mortality. The study objective was to characterize the relationship of age and injury duration with CMD.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort assessment of CMD risks using unbiased recursive partitioning to divide for group comparison: (1) Lowest Risk, (2) Moderate Risk, and (3) Highest Risk based on classification and regression trees predicting CMD diagnosis by age and injury duration.

SETTING

Academic rehabilitation center laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS

Adults (N = 103; aged 18-75) with traumatic SCI (C4-L2) of 3 months to 42 years duration.

INTERVENTIONS

NA.

OUTCOME MEASURES

CMD risk factors (obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension) using Paralyzed Veterans of America SCI-specific guidelines.

RESULTS

Obesity was prevalent (82%) and co-occurred with most other risk factors present. Age increased odds for CMD diagnosis by 1.05 per year (P = 0.02) and was directly related to elevated body mass index (BMI, β = 0.42, P < 0.05), fasting glucose (β =  0.58, P < 0.01), and higher systolic blood pressure (β = 0.31, P < 0.10). In contrast, time since injury contributed to lower risk factor count (β = -0.29, P < 0.10) and higher HDL-C (β = 0.50, P < 0.01), and was not related to odds of CMD diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

While SCI is linked to an increased risk of CMD, age is associated with higher CMD risk. Increased SCI duration related to improvement in individual CMD risk factors but did not decrease overall risk for CMD diagnosis. SCI may not uniformly increase CMD risks and highlight a necessary focus on weight management for risk prevention.

Effect of body mass index on survival after spinal cord injury

Introduction

Increased mortality after acute and chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) remains a challenge and mandates a better understanding of the factors contributing to survival in these patients. This study investigated whether body mass index (BMI) measured after acute traumatic SCI is associated with a change in mortality.

Methods

A prospective longitudinal cohort study was conducted with 742 patients who were admitted to the Acute Spine Unit of the Vancouver General Hospital between 2004 and 2016 with a traumatic SCI. An investigation of the association between BMI on admission and long-term mortality was conducted using classification and regression tree (CART) and generalized additive models (spline curves) from acute care up to 7.7 years after SCI (chronic phase). Multivariable models were adjusted for (i) demographic factors (e.g., age, sex, and Charlson Comorbidity Index) and (ii) injury characteristics (e.g., neurological level and severity and Injury Severity Score).

Results

After the exclusion of incomplete datasets (n = 602), 643 patients were analyzed, of whom 102 (18.5%) died during a period up to 7.7 years after SCI. CART identified three distinct mortality risk groups: (i) BMI: > 30.5 kg/m2, (ii) 17.5-30.5 kg/m2, and (iii) < 17.5 kg/m2. Mortality was lowest in the high BMI group (BMI > 30.5 kg/m2), followed by the middle-weight group (17.5-30.5 kg/m2), and was highest in the underweight group (BMI < 17.5 kg/m2). High BMI had a mild protective effect against mortality after SCI (hazard ratio 0.28, 95% CI: 0.09-0.88, p = 0.029), concordant with a modest "obesity paradox". Moreover, being underweight at admission was a significant risk factor for mortality up to 7.7 years after SCI (hazard ratio 5.5, 95% CI: 2.34-13.17, p < 0.001).

Discussion

Mortality risk (1 month to 7.7 years after SCI) was associated with differences in BMI at admission. Further research is needed to better understand the underlying mechanisms. Given an established association of BMI with metabolic determinants, these results may suggest unknown neuro-metabolic pathways that are crucial for patient survival.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals living with spinal cord injury: A qualitative study

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE

To explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as experienced and reported by individuals living with a spinal cord injury (SCI).

RESEARCH METHOD/DESIGN

Descriptive qualitative design using in-depth semistructured interviews with individuals with SCI (n = 33) followed by thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Three main themes described impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. (a) Impact on health care use; subthemes elaborated that this was attributable to in-person health care facility restrictions or individual decisions to delay care. Individuals with SCI experienced lapses in primary and SCI-specialty care, rehabilitation/therapy services, and home care, but some made use of telehealth services. (b) Impact on weight and/or weight management lifestyle behaviors; subthemes discussed that engagement in physical activity declined because of fitness center closures, recreational activity cancellations, and safety precautions limiting community-based and outdoor activities. The pandemic disrupted participants' independence in purchasing and making preferred food selections which impacted healthy eating. Participants ate due to boredom, at nonmealtimes, and consumed unhealthy foods during the pandemic. (c) Impact on psychosocial factors; included subthemes noting reduced social interactions, social participation, and ability to pursue pastimes with family, friends, and groups they belonged to. The pandemic also triggered emotional reactions such as worry, fear, doubt, demotivation, and feelings of social isolation.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight the magnitude of consequences faced by individuals with SCI when restrictions to health care, healthy lifestyle endeavors, and social participation occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings may inform SCI health care providers on what is needed in response to future public health or natural disaster crises. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Positive and negative ways that informal caregivers are affected by weight and weight management efforts for care recipients with spinal cord injury

PURPOSE

To understand how informal caregivers are affected by weight and weight management of care recipients with SCI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 24 informal caregivers of community-dwelling Veterans and civilians with SCI. Thematic analysis was conducted.

RESULTS

Three themes described how the care recipient's weight management efforts impacted the caregiver, including: (1) motivation and involvement in weight management efforts for themselves, (2) emotional well-being (positive and negative aspects), and (3) physical tasks (both ease and burden). Caregivers may experience emotional and/or physical burden by taking on extra caregiving tasks to help with care recipient's weight management. Caregivers also may experience positive impacts from the care recipient's weight management efforts, regardless of who drove the efforts, including improvement in their own motivation and involvement in weight management, enhanced emotional well-being (happiness for and with the care-recipient), and making physical caregiving tasks easier.

CONCLUSIONS

Rehabilitation providers can use these findings to educate dyads about potential impacts of weight management efforts for the care recipient, specifying areas that may cause burden but emphasizing the potential benefits for both recipient and caregiver. Integrating this education into rehabilitation practice may reduce overweight-related problems with function and declines in disability among dyads.Implications for RehabilitationInformal caregivers experience both positive and negative consequences with regard to weight management for individuals with SCI.Helping their loved one with weight management can facilitate informal caregivers' involvement in their own weight management activities.Findings may offer guidance to healthcare and rehabilitation providers as they incorporate weight management into education programs for informal caregivers of persons with SCI.Integrating this education into rehabilitation practice may reduce or delay overweight-related problems with function and declines in disability among dyads.

Informal caregivers' self-identified roles in facilitating health-promoting behaviours for weight management in community-dwelling care recipients living with spinal cord injury in the United States

Health providers often focus on secondary conditions and spend less time prioritising overweight/obesity care. Informal caregivers are well positioned to facilitate health-promoting behaviours of healthy eating and physical activity among community-dwelling care recipients with spinal cord injury (SCI) for prevention and management of overweight/obesity. Literature has typically focused on caregiver adjustment post-injury and burden related to their roles in secondary condition care. The novel objective of this study was to describe informal caregivers' perspectives of their roles in facilitating health-promoting weight management behaviours, healthy eating and physical activity, for care recipients with SCI. This was a qualitative study that used semi-structured interviews with informal caregivers for data collection in 2019. Braun & Clarke's established thematic phases were used for analysis. Participants included informal caregivers of individuals with SCI living in the community (n = 24). Caregivers identified eight themes to describe their role in facilitating weight management for care recipients. Themes included: (1) meal planning/shopping, (2) meal preparation/cooking, (3) using portion control, (4) serving/feeding, (5) helping the care recipient with physical activity and/or leisure activities, (6) mutually participating in weight management activities, (7) providing motivation and encouragement and (8) being an information liaison. In summary, informal caregivers have an intimate understanding of care recipients' needs and have insights on obstacles and enablers to health-promoting behaviours, making their involvement in facilitating weight management in individuals with SCI vital. Caregivers self-identified several significant roles for promoting weight management. This is especially valuable for conditions such as overweight/obesity for which prevention and treatment involve health-promoting behaviours that need consistent attention in the community setting. It is important to ensure that informal caregivers and care recipients have the information required in order to facilitate healthy eating and physical activity in persons with SCI and have opportunities for mutual dyadic participation when both partners are interested.

The Diagnosis and Management of Cardiometabolic Risk and Cardiometabolic Syndrome after Spinal Cord Injury

Individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI) commonly present with component risk factors for cardiometabolic risk and combined risk factors for cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS). These primary risk factors include obesity, dyslipidemia, dysglycemia/insulin resistance, and hypertension. Commonly referred to as "silent killers", cardiometabolic risk and CMS increase the threat of cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of death after SCI. This narrative review will examine current data and the etiopathogenesis of cardiometabolic risk, CMS, and cardiovascular disease associated with SCI, focusing on pivotal research on cardiometabolic sequelae from the last five years. The review will also provide current diagnosis and surveillance criteria for cardiometabolic disorders after SCI, a novel obesity classification system based on percent total body fat, and lifestyle management strategies to improve cardiometabolic health.

Prognostic Factors for Cervical Spinal Cord Injury without Major Bone Injury in Elderly Patients

In the current aging society, there has been a marked increase in the incidence of cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) without major bone injury. This multi-center study aimed to identify predictors of neurological improvement in elderly patients with CSCI without major bone injury. The participants were 591 patients aged ≥65 years with CSCI without major bone injury and a minimum follow-up period of three months. Neurologic status was defined using the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale (AIS). Univariate and multi-variate analyses were performed to identify prognostic factors for walking recovery in AIS A-C cases and full upper extremity motor recovery in AIS D cases. In AIS A-C cases, body mass index (odds ratio (OR): 1.112), magnetic resonance imaging signal change (OR: 0.240), AIS on admission (OR: 3.497), comorbidity of dementia/delirium (OR: 0.365), and post-injury pneumonia (OR: 0.194) were identified as independent prognostic factors for walking recovery. The prevalence of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OR: 0.494) was also found to be an independent prognostic factor in AIS B and C cases only. In AIS D cases, age (OR: 0.937), upper extremity ASIA motor score on admission (OR: 1.230 [per 5 scores]), and operation (OR: 0.519) were independent prognostic factors for full motor recovery. The severity of AIS at admission was the strongest predictor of functional outcomes. Promoting rehabilitation, however, through measures to reduce cognitive changes, post-injury pneumonia, and unhealthy body weight changes can contribute to greater neurological improvement in AIS A-C cases.

Development of a machine learning algorithm for predicting in-hospital and 1-year mortality after traumatic spinal cord injury

BACKGROUND CONTEXT

Current prognostic tools such as the Injury Severity Score (ISS) that predict mortality following trauma do not adequately consider the unique characteristics of traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI).

PURPOSE

Our aim was to develop and validate a prognostic tool that can predict mortality following tSCI.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective review of a prospective cohort study.

PATIENT SAMPLE

Data was collected from 1245 persons with acute tSCI who were enrolled in the Rick Hansen Spinal Cord Injury Registry between 2004 and 2016.

OUTCOME MEASURES

In-hospital and 1-year mortality following tSCI.

METHODS

Machine learning techniques were used on patient-level data (n=849) to develop the Spinal Cord Injury Risk Score (SCIRS) that can predict mortality based on age, neurological level and completeness of injury, AOSpine classification of spinal column injury morphology, and Abbreviated Injury Scale scores. Validation of the SCIRS was performed by testing its accuracy in an independent validation cohort (n=396) and comparing its performance to the ISS, a measure which is used to predict mortality following general trauma.

RESULTS

For 1-year mortality prediction, the values for the Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC) for the development cohort were 0.84 (standard deviation=0.029) for the SCIRS and 0.55 (0.041) for the ISS. For the validation cohort, AUC values were 0.86 (0.051) for the SCIRS and 0.71 (0.074) for the ISS. For in-hospital mortality, AUC values for the development cohort were 0.87 (0.028) and 0.60 (0.050) for the SCIRS and ISS, respectively. For the validation cohort, AUC values were 0.85 (0.054) for the SCIRS and 0.70 (0.079) for the ISS.

CONCLUSIONS

The SCIRS can predict in-hospital and 1-year mortality following tSCI more accurately than the ISS. The SCIRS can be used in research to reduce bias in estimating parameters and can help adjust for coefficients during model development. Further validation using larger sample sizes and independent datasets is needed to assess its reliability and to evaluate using it as an assessment tool to guide clinical decision-making and discussions with patients and families.

Mortality Beyond the First Year After Spinal Cord Injury: Does Body Mass Index Matter?

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association between body mass index (BMI [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared]) and mortality after the first year post spinal cord injury (SCI) overall and across demographic and injury characteristics.

DESIGN

Cohort study.

SETTING

Sixteen Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS) centers.

PARTICIPANTS

SCIMS Database participants age 20 years or older and having a BMI assessment during the 2007-2011 wave of data collection.

INTERVENTIONS

Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

All-cause mortality rate. Life table method and log-rank test were used to estimate and compare mortality rates across BMI groups and other factors. Cox proportional hazard regression model was conducted to estimate hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

RESULTS

A total of 2346 participants (N=2346) with SCI were classified into 1 of the 8 BMI groups: <18.5 (6.9%), 18.5-19.9 (7.3%), 20.0-22.49 (15.0%), 22.5-24.9 (18.8%), 25.0-27.49 (17.5%), 27.5-29.9 (13.2%), 30.0-34.9 (13.5%), and ≥35.0 (7.8%). Compared with people with BMI of 22.5-29.9, a higher mortality risk was observed among people with BMI<18.5 (HR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.25-2.49), 18.5-19.9 (HR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.06-2.15), and ≥35.0 (HR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.11-2.07) after adjusting for confounding factors (sex, age at the time of BMI assessment, marital status, neurologic status). The U-shape BMI-mortality relationship varied by age, sex, neurologic status, and years since injury.

CONCLUSIONS

To improve life expectancy after SCI, health care professionals could focus on weight management among patients with relatively low and extremely high BMI, defined by demographic and injury-related characteristics. Future studies should explore factors that contribute to such a higher mortality after SCI, including pre-existing conditions, poor diet and/or nutrition, and cardiorespiratory fitness.

What Are Personal Meanings of Healthy Eating and Physical Activity in Individuals Living With Spinal Cord Injury? A Qualitative Exploration

Objectives: To explore the personal meanings of healthy eating and physical activity among individuals living with spinal cord injury (SCI) and the information and resources they find beneficial. Methods: We conducted in-depth semistructured individual interviews to understand the personal meanings of healthy eating and physical activity among individuals with SCI. We completed a thematic analysis of qualitative data. Results: Participants were 11 Veterans and 14 civilians, predominantly male, non-Hispanic White, and with paraplegia. Data were described across two categories, including the personal meaning of healthy eating and the personal meaning of physical activity/exercise. Individuals with SCI described their meaning of healthy eating around four themes: types of food, amounts/portions of food, conscious/mindful eating, and eating to enhance health. Individuals wanted information on tailored diets for individuals with paraplegia and tetraplegia and healthy foods that are easy to prepare by people with SCI. Their personal meaning of physical activity/exercise focused on four themes: types of physical activity and exercise, staying active, moving/movement, and differences from non-SCI. Desired information around physical activity included cardiovascular workouts that are effective and possible to do in a wheelchair so that people with SCI can burn enough of the calories they consume to lose or maintain weight. Conclusion: Results provide a better understanding of what healthy eating and physical activity mean to people with SCI and information they desire toward these goals, which can be used to guide patient-provider discussions, develop health promotion programs, and tailor interventions to capitalize on meaningful concepts and beliefs that facilitate healthy behaviors.

Pre-natal and post-natal anxiety in relation to pre-pregnancy obesity: A cohort study on Iranian pregnant women

Background:

To determine the association between pre-conception obesity and screening results of pre-natal and post-natal anxiety in women that referred to the health centers of Tabriz, Iran.

Methods:

62 obese (class 2-3) and 245 normal-weight women were enrolled in the first trimester of pregnancy through the cohort study and followed-up 1 year after childbirth from December 2012 to January 2016. The Beck anxiety inventory scale (BAI-II) was completed in five time points: the first, second, third trimester of pregnancy, 6–8 weeks and 12 months after childbirth. Chi-square, Fisher’s exact tests, Independent t-test, Mann-Whitney, and multivariate logistic regression adjusted for confounders were used for data analysis. Statistically significant was considered as p<0.05.

Results:

The rate of moderate to severe anxiety in 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd trimesters of gestation, 6–8 weeks and 12 months after birth was 8.6%, 10%, 12.6%, 7.8%, 6.5% in normal weight women versus 18%, 17.9%, 19.2%, 12.5%, 19.4% in obese class II women, respectively. The odds of anxiety in the first trimester of pregnancy for class 2–3 obesity was 2.72-fold greater than normal weight group [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14–6.47; p=0.023]. This odd was 3.30- fold (aOR 3.30, 95%CI 1.13-9.60; p=0.045) for 1 year after birth.

Conclusion:

Obesity remained associated with positive screening for anxiety in the first trimester of pregnancy and one year after birth. Obese women more likely require special medical care during their pregnancy due to its impacts on mood.