Dietary intake relative to cardiovascular disease risk factors in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury: A pilot study

Background: The relationship between cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and dietary intake is unknown among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Objective: To investigate the relationship between consumption of selected food groups (dairy, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and meat) and CVD risk factors in individuals with chronic SCI. Methods: A cross-sectional substudy of individuals with SCI to assess CVD risk factors and dietary intake in comparison with age-, gender-, and race-matched able-bodied individuals enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Dietary history, blood pressure, waist circumference (WC), fasting blood glucose, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), lipids, glucose, and insulin data were collected from 100 SCI participants who were 38 to 55 years old with SCI >1 year and compared to 100 matched control participants from the CARDIA study. Results: Statistically significant differences between SCI and CARDIA participants were identified in WC (39.2 vs 36.2 in.; P < .001) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; 39.2 vs 47.5 mg/dL; P < .001). Blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, and hs-CRP were similar between SCI and CARDIA participants. No significant relation between CVD risk factors and selected food groups was seen in the SCI participants. Conclusions: SCI participants had adverse WC and HDL-C compared to controls. This study did not identify a relationship between consumption of selected food groups and CVD risk factors.