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. CONCLUSION 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.