title: Serum lipid profile in subjects with traumatic spinal cord injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Few large studies have examined the relationship between spinal cord injury (SCI) and lipid profile. We studied serum lipid concentrations in subjects with traumatic SCI in relation to the degree of neurological involvement and time since injury, and compared them with values from a reference sample for the Spanish population (DRECE study).
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective cohort was built from 177 consecutive cases with traumatic SCI admitted to the SCI unit of the Miguel Servet Hospital in Aragon (Spain). Outcome measures (cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-c and LDL-c levels) were analyzed according to the ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS), neurological level of injury (involvement of all limbs vs. only lower limbs), and time since injury. All analyses were adjusted for age and sex.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cases without preserved motor function (AIS A or B) had lower total and HDL cholesterol than the others (-11.4 [-21.5, -1.4] mg/dL total cholesterol and -5.1 [-8.8, -1.4] mg/dL HDL-c), and cases with all-limb involvement had lower total, HDL, and LDL cholesterol than those with only lower-limb involvement (-14.0 [-24.6, -3.4] mg/dL total cholesterol, -4.1 [-8.0, -0.2] mg/dL HDL-c, and -10.0 [-19.7, -0.3] mg/dL LDL-c) (all p<0.05). No association was found between lipid concentrations and time since injury. Concentrations of lipid subfractions and triglycerides in SCI subjects were lower than in sex- and age-stratified values from the reference sample.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A high degree of neurological involvement in SCI (anatomically higher lesions and AIS A or B) is associated with lower total cholesterol and HDL-c.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Atherothrombosis and Imaging, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain; Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Department of Epidemiology, St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laclaustra
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Aged and Extended Care, School of Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth Louise Maayken
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Van Den Berg
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Atherothrombosis and Imaging, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Yamilée
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hurtado-Roca
authors.affiliation: National School of Occupational Medicine, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Castellote
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000097:blood*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D014280:Triglycerides