Patient Perceptions and Clinical Assessments of Cardiometabolic Disease After Subacute Spinal Cord Injury.

Objectives: To investigate the effectiveness of health care team communication regarding cardiometabolic disease (CMD) risk factors with patients with subacute spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Multi-site prospective cross-sectional study.

Setting: Five National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research Model SCI Rehabilitation Centers.

Acute Spinal Cord Injury Is Associated With Prevalent Cardiometabolic Risk Factors.

Objectives: To (1) describe the prevalence of cardiometabolic disease (CMD) at spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation discharge; (2) compare this with controls without SCI; and (3) identify factors associated with increased CMD.

Design: Multicenter, prospective observational study.

Setting: Five National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research Model SCI Rehabilitation Centers.

The association between metabolic syndrome and pressure ulcers among individuals living with spinal cord injury.

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and pressure ulcers (PrU), after controlling for demographic and injury characteristics, socioeconomic factors, health behaviors and fatigue among participants with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 350 participants with SCI from a hospital in the western region of the USA. Blood tests and physical examination were performed.

Cardiometabolic changes and disparities among persons with spinal cord injury: a 17-year cohort study.

Background: Cardiometabolic syndrome in individuals who are aging with spinal cord injury (SCI) increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Longitudinal research is needed on the natural progression of cardiometabolic syndrome in SCI.

Objective: To identify the magnitude of changes in biomarkers of cardiometabolic syndrome and diabetes over time in people aging with SCI, and to discern how these biomarkers relate to demographics of race/ethnicity and sex.

Predictors of subclinical atherosclerosis in women with spinal cord injury.

Background: Chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with an increase in risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). In the general population, atherosclerosis in women occurs later than in men and usually presents differently. Associations between risk factors and incidence of CVD have not been studied in women with SCI.

Safety, tolerance, and efficacy of extended-release niacin monotherapy for treating dyslipidemia risks in persons with chronic tetraplegia: a randomized multicenter controlled trial.

Objective: To test the safety, tolerance, and efficacy of extended-release niacin monotherapy on dyslipidemia in persons with chronic tetraplegia.

Design: Placebo-controlled, blinded, multicenter, randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Three spinal cord injury research/rehabilitation centers.

Amenorrhea, pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes in women following spinal cord injury: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of amenorrhea and pregnancy as well as pregnancy outcomes following spinal cord injury (SCI) in women.

Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, women with SCI were interviewed regarding demographic data, details about the timing and type of SCI they sustained, whether the neurologic deficit was complete or incomplete, and reproductive history. The study was initiated in September 2001 and lasted 3 years.

Clinical significance of abnormal electrocardiographic findings in individuals aging with spinal injury and abnormal lipid profiles.

Background: Cardiovascular risk factors are common in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI), and their prevalence increases with age. The actual prevalence of overt cardiovascular disease (CVD) in this population has not been well established.

Methods: Electrocardiograms (ECGs) were examined for abnormalities in 43 individuals with abnormal lipid profiles being followed in the outpatient SCI clinic of our institution.

Incidence and clinical correlates of increased serum creatine kinase levels in persons with spinal cord injury.

Background: Elevated plasma levels of creatine kinase (CPK) are found in various neuromuscular conditions as a result of muscle damage and necrosis. Elevated CPK has also been described in elite wheelchair athletes and in able-bodied individuals after strenuous exercise.

Methods: The incidence of elevated CPK in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) has not been well established.

The effect of dietary intervention on lipid profiles in individuals with spinal cord injury.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a simple dietary intervention for individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) and moderately elevated total cholesterol.

Methods: Baseline and follow-up serum lipid values were obtained on 222 persons with SCI. Eighty-six individuals with total cholesterol >200 mg/dL were referred for dietary consultation (group 1).

Air pollution and daily hospital admissions in metropolitan Los Angeles.

We used daily time-series analysis to evaluate associations between ambient carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter [less than and equal to] 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(10)), or ozone concentrations, and hospital admissions for cardiopulmonary illnesses in metropolitan Los Angeles during 1992-1995. We performed Poisson regressions for the entire patient population and for subgroups defined by season, region, or personal characteristics, allowing for effects of temporal variation, weather, and autocorrelation. CO showed the most consistently significant (p<0.

Scintigraphic and electrocardiographic evidence of silent coronary artery disease in asymptomatic hypertension: a case-control study.

Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the incidence of physiologically significant coronary artery disease in a group of asymptomatic high risk men with essential hypertension and to assess the validity of noninvasive tests in a subset of these patients undergoing coronary arteriography.

Methods: Two hundred twenty-six asymptomatic men (mean age 61 +/- 8 years) with essential hypertension and no clinical evidence of coronary artery disease but with at least one additional coronary risk factor were studied prospectively. Fifty age- and risk factor-matched normotensive subjects were evaluated as a control group.