title: Longitudinal relationship between wheelchair exercise capacity and life satisfaction in patients with spinal cord injury: A cohort study in the Netherlands.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relationship between wheelchair exercise capacity and life satisfaction in persons with spinal cord injury from the start of active inpatient rehabilitation up to 5 years after discharge.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Persons with spinal cord injury, aged 18-65 years, and wheelchair dependent at least for long distances.
  
  
  METHODS
  Measurements at the start of active rehabilitation, after 3 months, at discharge from inpatient rehabilitation, and 1 and 5 years after discharge. A peak wheelchair exercise test was performed to record peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) and peak power output (POpeak). Life satisfaction was measured as current life satisfaction and change of life satisfaction in comparison with life after spinal cord injury. Relationships between (changes in) exercise capacity and (changes in) life satisfaction were analyzed random coefficient analysis, corrected for possible confounders (age, gender, level of lesion, functional status, secondary impairments, pain, and sports activity) if necessary.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 225 persons included, 130 attended two or more peak exercise tests, who were include in the analyses. Mean age at start was 39 years, 75% were male, 73% had paraplegia, and 76% had a traumatic lesion. Mean POpeak increased during the study from 32.9 to 55.9 Watts, mean VO2peak from 1.02 to 1.38 l/minute, and mean life satisfaction from 5.7 to 7.8. An increase of POpeak with 10 W was associated with a 0.3-point increase of life satisfaction (P = 0.01). An increase of VO2peak with 0.1 l/minute was associated with a 0.1-point increase of life satisfaction (P = 0.049). Conclusion High(er) wheelchair exercise capacity is related to high(er) life satisfaction in spinal cord injury patients.
authors.forename: Casper Floris
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: van Koppenhagen
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Post
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Groot
authors.forename: Christel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: van Leeuwen
authors.forename: Floris
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: van Asbeck
authors.forename: Janneke
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stolwijk-Swüste
authors.forename: Lucas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van der Woude
authors.forename: Eline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lindeman
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010809:Physical Fitness; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014910:Wheelchairs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cohort; Life satisfaction; Longitudinal; Physical fitness; Spinal cord injury