Accelerated Arterial Stiffening Change in Early Years of Spinal Cord Injury

Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) possess higher arterial stiffness index (SI) than the healthy population. This study aimed to clarify the effect of post-morbid duration on arterial stiffening change among SCI sufferers. Seventy-one SCI patients were recruited. The demographic data including age, gender, level of injury, body mass index, American Spinal Cord Injury Association Impairment Scale, and post-morbid duration were collected. The age was 36.4 ± 11.7 years and the duration was 87.5 ± 106.4 months. SI was assessed with digital volume pulse analysis. Correlation matrix demonstrated that age is the most significant determinant of SI (R = 0.503). The scatter plot of duration versus SI showed that they were correlated significantly, but in a logarithmic rather than linear trend. Partial correlation showed that the natural log of duration (Lnduration) has higher adjusted correlation coefficient (0.357) than duration when the effect of age and other factors were eliminated. Multiple linear regression modeling also exhibited that Lnduration is the only factor that significantly increases the explanation of SI by age. In conclusion, Lnduration is an independent determinant of SI. SCI accelerates vascular aging especially in the early several years. Therefore, there should be emphasis on primary prevention of cardiovascular disorders during early years of SCI.