Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in veterans with spinal cord injury

This study looks at how common metabolic syndrome is in veterans with spinal cord injuries (SCI). Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, unhealthy cholesterol levels, and obesity that can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. The researchers used a specific set of criteria to define metabolic syndrome, modifying them to be more appropriate for people with SCI. They found that metabolic syndrome is more common in veterans with SCI compared to the general population. This suggests there's a need to better identify and treat these conditions in veterans with SCI to improve their overall health.

• 1
  Over 57% of the veterans assessed were determined to have metabolic syndrome by modified IDF criteria, including 76.7% with BMI ≥22 kg/m2.
• 2
  55.1% of participants had or were under treatment for hypertension.
• 3
  49.7% had or were previously diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, and 69.7% with or under treatment for high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol under 40 mg/dl.