Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Fall;18(4):322-30.
doi: 10.1310/sci1804-322.

Cardiometabolic risk profiles in pre- versus postmenopausal women with spinal cord injury:: preliminary findings

Hillary Hosier  1 , Suzanne L Groah, Alex V Libin, Emily Tinsley, Patricia Burns, Mark S Nash
Affiliations

Cardiometabolic risk profiles in pre- versus postmenopausal women with spinal cord injury:: preliminary findings

Hillary Hosier et al. Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil. 2012 Fall.

Abstract

Objective: To compare the cardiometabolic risk (CMR) profile of premenopausal and postmenopausal women with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Method: Post hoc analysis of a multicenter cross-sectional study assessing CMR. Seventeen women with ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS) A or B SCI between C5 and T12 were stratified into 2 groups according to menopausal status (11 premenopausal vs 6 postmenopausal women). Data collected included demographic, social, medical, menopausal, hormone use, and menstrual histories. Assessments included physical, anthropometric, and blood pressure measures; fasting serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), and hemoglobin A1C (Hb1Ac); calculated low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C); and an oral glucose tolerance test.

Results: The premenopausal group had a mean age of 32.4 years compared with 56.0 years in the postmenopausal group. Similar group findings included body mass index (BMI) (22.4 vs 22.2), HDL-C (52.5 vs 53 mg/dL), HbA1c (4.9 vs 5.1%), fasting blood glucose (FBG) (79.3 vs 84.8 mg/dL), and systolic blood pressure (SBP) (104.6 vs 111.8 mm Hg). TG, TC and LDL-C were significantly higher in postmenopausal group (55.7 vs 101.8 mg/dL, P = .01; 158.3 vs 191.6 mg/dL, P = .04; 94.7 vs 118.2 mg/dL, P = .04).

Conclusions: The findings from this study suggest that postmenopausal women with SCI have CMR trends similar to those observed in nondisabled women, characterized by increases in TG, TC, and LDL-C despite favorable BMIs and glycemic indices. Even though the present study includes significant limitations, future evidence may also suggest that heightened surveillance and guideline-driven interventions are indicated for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women with SCI.

Keywords: cardiometabolic risk; menopause; spinal cord injury.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Soden RJ, Walsh J, Middleton JW, Craven ML, Rutkowski SB, Yeo JD.Causes of death after spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord. 2000;38(10):604–610 - PubMed
    1. Garshick E, Kelley A, Cohen SA, et al. A prospective assessment of mortality in chronic spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord. 2005;43(7):408–416 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bauman WA, Kahn NN, Grimm DR, Spungen AM.Risk factors for atherogenesis and cardiovascular autonomic function in persons with spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord. 1999;37(9):601–616 - PubMed
    1. DeVivo MJ, Chen Y.Trends in new injuries, prevalent cases, and aging with spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2011;92(3):332–338 - PubMed
    1. Nash MS, Mendez AJ.A guideline-driven assessment of need for cardiovascular disease risk intervention in persons with chronic paraplegia. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2007;88(6):751–757 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources