@article{4801fc3f-b6b1-45cd-8ca9-5a629ff63e06,
  abstract     = {{<p>Objective: To describe arterial stiffness, ankle-brachial index (ABI), advanced glycation end products (AGE) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in middle-aged people with cervical and upper thoracic SCI, and compare findings with the general population. Design: Cross-sectional study with matched controls. Setting: Tertiary outpatient SCI unit in southern Sweden. Participants: Participants (n = 25) in the Swedish Spinal Cord Injury Study on Cardiopulmonary and Autonomic Impairment (SPICA) (20% women, mean age 58 years, mean time since injury 28 years, injury levels C2-T6, American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale A-C). Controls (n = 250; ratio 10:1) from the general population were obtained from the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS). Outcome measures: Aortic augmentation index at heart rate of 75 bpm (Aortic Aix@75), pulse wave velocity, ABI, AGE, HbA1c and anthropometry. Results: The participants had significantly higher measures of Aortic Aix@75 (mean 35 vs 21, P = 0.004) and AGE (mean 2.6 vs 2.1, P &lt; 0.001), and lower ABI (mean 1.07 vs 1.26, P &lt; 0.001) and HbA1c (mean 36 vs 37, P = 0.007) than the controls. An abnormal HbA1c level (&lt;31 or &gt;46) was present in eight (32%) and 23 (9%) of the participants with SCI and controls, respectively (P = 0.003). Pulse wave velocity was similar between participants with SCI and controls (mean 8.6 m/s vs 8.5 m/s, P = 0.53). Conclusions: The difference in cardiometabolic factors between middle-aged people with long-term cervical and upper thoracic SCI and the general population implies that their cardiometabolic health is compromised. Further studies are needed to determine the prognostic significance of these differences. Trial registration:ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03515122.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hill, Mattias and Jörgensen, Sophie and Engström, Gunnar and Lexell, Jan}},
  issn         = {{1079-0268}},
  keywords     = {{Cardiovascular diseases; Metabolic diseases; Spinal cord injuries}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{1--10}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine}},
  title        = {{Cardiometabolic factors in middle-aged people with long-term cervical and upper thoracic spinal cord injuries}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10790268.2026.2709252}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/10790268.2026.2709252}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}