Serum lipid profile in subjects with traumatic spinal cord injury

Abstract

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). 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. 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. 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. ; Dr. Laclaustra was supported in part by grants FIS CP08/00112 and PI10/00021 from the Spanish Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Dr. Castellote was supported in part by grants TPY 1115/07, PI13/00526, TPY 1444/08 and ESVI 1338/12-1 from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Dr. Hurtado was supported by Fellowship N°088-FINCyT-BDE-2014 from Peruvian government. We would like to thank the staff of the Miguel Servet Hospital and especially the medical staff of the SCI ...