Risk behaviors related to cigarette smoking among persons with spinal cord injury

Exploring lifestyle components and associated factors in newly injured individuals with spinal cord injury

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis from the Inception Cohort of the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Study (SwiSCI).

OBJECTIVES

To describe five lifestyle components in newly injured individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), explore co-occurrence of these components, and identify associated personal and clinical factors.

SETTINGS

Initial rehabilitation stay following traumatic and non-traumatic SCI.

METHODS

Lifestyle components including overweight/obesity, low diet score, physical inactivity, smoking, and alcohol consumption were used independently and to calculate a composite lifestyle score. Analyses were conducted using descriptive statistics, co-occurrence analysis, and multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS

We included 251 individuals, of whom 77.7% were male, 73.7% suffered from traumatic SCI, and 59.8% had paraplegia. The median age was 51 years (IQR 36-64). Approximately twelve weeks after the injury, more than two-thirds of the study population met the criteria for overweight/obesity, and consumed insufficient amounts of fruits and vegetables, and excessive amounts of meat. Alcohol was consumed by 85.3% of individuals, and 26.8% were current smokers. Almost all study participants met the physical activity guidelines (90 min of moderate to strenuous activity physical activity per week). One-quarter of study participants experienced the co-occurrence of overweight/obesity, low diet score and alcohol consumption. Female sex, younger age and higher education were associated with healthier lifestyle components.

CONCLUSION

Despite methodological limitations, this study underscores the complexities of healthy lifestyle adherence among individuals newly injured with SCI. It highlights the necessity of improving and implementing screening strategies throughout the continuum of SCI care as early as possible following the trauma.

Factors Associated With Pain Medication Use and the Relationship to Chiropractic Treatment Outcomes for Patients With Low Back and Neck Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVE

The study objectives were to identify baseline factors associated with pain medication use and determine any differences in chiropractic treatment outcomes in patients with low back pain (LBP) and neck pain (NP) depending on their use of pain medication.

METHODS

This cross-sectional, prospective outcomes study included 1077 adults with acute or chronic LBP and 845 adults with acute or chronic NP recruited from Swiss chiropractors in their offices within 4 years. Demographic data and the responses to the Patient's Global Impression of Change scale collected at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year were analyzed with the χ2 test. Baseline pain and disability levels were measured using the numeric rating scale (NRS), Oswestry questionnaire for LBP, and Bournemouth questionnaire for patients with NP and analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U test between the 2 groups. To detect significant predictors of medication use at baseline, logistic regression analysis was performed.

RESULTS

Patients with acute LBP and NP were more likely than those with chronic pain to take pain medication (P < .001 LBP; P = .003 NP). Medication use was more likely with patients with radiculopathy (P < .001 LBP; P = .05 NP) who were smokers (P = .008 LBP; P = .024 NP) and those reporting below-average general health (P < .001 LBP and NP). Pain medication users had higher baseline pain (P < .001 LBP and NP) and disability (P < .001 LBP and NP) scores.

CONCLUSION

Patients with LBP and NP had significantly higher pain and disability levels at baseline, tended to have radiculopathy and poor health, were smokers, and presented during the acute phase. However, for this sample of patients, there were no differences in subjective improvement between users and non-users of pain medication for any data collection time point, which has management implications.

The Diagnosis and Management of Cardiometabolic Risk and Cardiometabolic Syndrome after Spinal Cord Injury

Individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI) commonly present with component risk factors for cardiometabolic risk and combined risk factors for cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS). These primary risk factors include obesity, dyslipidemia, dysglycemia/insulin resistance, and hypertension. Commonly referred to as "silent killers", cardiometabolic risk and CMS increase the threat of cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of death after SCI. This narrative review will examine current data and the etiopathogenesis of cardiometabolic risk, CMS, and cardiovascular disease associated with SCI, focusing on pivotal research on cardiometabolic sequelae from the last five years. The review will also provide current diagnosis and surveillance criteria for cardiometabolic disorders after SCI, a novel obesity classification system based on percent total body fat, and lifestyle management strategies to improve cardiometabolic health.

Association between Spinal Cord Injury and Alcohol Dependence: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating disorder. Alcohol abuse has been recognized as hindering SCI patients from rehabilitation, thus leading to longer length of days and poorer prognosis. This article aimed to investigate the association between spinal cord injury (SCI) and alcohol dependence. Data were derived from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). The incidence of alcohol dependence between SCI and non-SCI groups was compared. Other possible risk factors were also analyzed. Patients (N = 5670) with SCI from 2000 to 2009 were initially assessed for eligibility. After propensity score matching, 5639 first-time SCI survivors were included. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to assess differences in the incidence of alcohol dependence syndrome. Based on the adjusted hazard ratios (HR), the SCI group had a higher hazard for alcohol dependence syndrome compared to the non-SCI group (adjusted HR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.03~1.86, p = 0.0305). The injury level did not have an impact on the incidence of alcohol dependence syndrome. A higher incidence of alcohol dependence syndrome was related to male patients, lower insurance levels, higher Deyo’s CCI, and psychiatric OPD times. A lower incidence of alcohol dependence syndrome was related to elder age. The incidence of alcohol dependence increased after the occurrence of SCI and was also related to age, sex, monthly income, comorbidities, and psychiatric problems. The injury level did not affect the incidence of alcohol dependence after SCI.

Pressure ulcer knowledge, beliefs and practices in a group of South Africans with spinal cord injury

Study design

A quantitative, descriptive study using a cross-sectional survey.

Objectives

To describe the pressure ulcer knowledge, beliefs and practices amongst persons with SCI, who received rehabilitation at a Cape Town rehabilitation centre.

Setting

A rehabilitation centre for clients with physical disabilities in Cape Town, South Africa.

Methods

A quantitative, descriptive study, that employed consecutive sampling, was done. Participants included inpatients (n = 30), outpatients (n = 33) and peer supporters (n = 8). Data were collected during April and March 2015 with a questionnaire developed through collating existing questionnaires and adapting it for the study context. This rendered a knowledge score and data on beliefs and practices. The Fisher's exact test was used for comparative analysis (p < 0.05).

Results

The mean combined knowledge score was 42.7%. The majority of participants (88.7%) believed pressure ulcers to be serious and 45% thought they were likely to develop a PU. They believed daily skin checks (80.3%), weight shifting (86%) and limiting sitting time (80.3%) could prevent PU development. Study participants indicated that they did not regularly follow guideline recommended practices like regular pressure relief (51%) (36 participants) or daily skin inspection (38%) (27 participants) and 37% (26 participants) reported being current smokers.

Conclusion

Participants showed a lack of knowledge, which might have affected their pressure ulcer prevention practices negatively. The study findings can be used to assist with the development of a contextually relevant training programme on pressure care.

Determinants of health knowledge and health perceptions from the perspective of health-related education of patients with spinal cord injury: a systematic review

Appropriate health knowledge (HK) and health perceptions (HP) of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) are linked to health-related behaviors, compliance, the involvement of caregivers and efficacy of prophylaxis, and management of secondary conditions. The significance of factors determining the efficacy of educational interventions in patients with SCI is underestimated. This systematic literature review aims at identification of determinants of HK and HP among patients with SCI. We identified 16 papers with quantitative HK and HP measurements conclusive in the identification of HK and HP determinants in individuals with SCI. Better HK and HP correlated with health condition-related variables (traumatic SCI, history of secondary conditions, except depression), body functions and structures (tetraplegia, incomplete deficit), activities (independence in daily living activities, ability of locomotion on a wheelchair, inability to walk), social and vocational participation, environmental factors (access to a computer with Internet connection, living in a big city, being married, healthcare recently received), and personal factors (younger age among adults, living with SCI for a longer time, younger age at SCI onset, higher educational level, internal locus of control). Limitations encountered included high nonresponse rates among the patients enrolled, and use of heterogeneous and nonvalidated tools. The results of these studies do not cover the entire scope of possible interactions and exclusively apply univariate correlations. The paucity and methodological limitations of studies conclusive in the identification of HK and HP determinants in SCI patients and the development of new approaches to information and education warrant more high-quality research on the basis of multivariate analyses.

Risk of Pain Medication Misuse After Spinal Cord Injury: The Role of Substance Use, Personality, and Depression

Our purpose was to identify risk of pain medication misuse (PMM) among participants with spinal cord injury (SCI) by examining associations with multiple sets of risk factors including demographic and injury characteristics, pain experiences, frequency of pain medication use, substance use, personality, and depressive symptoms. Risk of PMM was defined by a cutoff score ≥30 measured using the Pain Medication Questionnaire (PMQ) and examined in 1,619 adults with traumatic SCI of at least 1 year duration who reported at least 1 painful condition and use of prescription pain medication using a cross-sectional design. Results indicated 17.6% of participants had scores of ≥30 on the PMQ. After controlling for demographic, injury, and pain characteristics, logistic regression analysis showed that being a current smoker, recently using cannabis (behavioral factors), and multiple psychological factors were associated with risk of PMM, as indicated by scores on the PMQ. These included elevated depressive symptomatology and exhibiting impulsive or anxious personality traits. Because risk of PMM is indicated in individuals with SCI, prescribers should assess and monitor multiple risk factors for PMM including substance use behaviors and psychological indicators.

PERSPECTIVE

This article identifies behavioral substance use and psychological factors associated with risk of PMM, measured using the PMQ, among those with SCI. Identification of these related variables will help health care professionals better prescribe and monitor pain medication use and/or misuse among individuals with SCI.

Prevalence of cigarette smoking and attempts to quit in a population-based cohort with spinal cord injury

OBJECTIVE

The purposes of this study were to assess (i) prevalence of smoking in a population-based cohort of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI), (ii) history of quit attempts and (iii) the relationship between access to health care, socioeconomic status (SES), smoking status and history of quit attempts.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Population-based SCI cohort.

METHODS

A total of 833 adults with SCI of at least 1-year duration were identified through a population-based surveillance system. Current smoking status, attempts to quit smoking in the past year and seeking professional help to quit smoking were assessed.

RESULTS

Over one-third (35.3%) of the sample were current smokers, of whom 75.4% had ever tried to quit, and of these, only 27.9% had ever sought professional help. Those with lower SES were more likely to be current smokers, as were those with less access to health care. Access to care was positively related to likelihood of having sought professional help.

CONCLUSIONS

We found rates of smoking among persons with SCI to be well above national prevalence rates. We also found poorer access to care related to a greater likelihood of being a current smoker, had no association with trying to quit smoking, but decreased likelihood of using cessation support among those who did attempt to quit.