Home
Scholarly Works
Evidence of dietary inadequacy in adults with...
Journal article

Evidence of dietary inadequacy in adults with chronic spinal cord injury

Abstract

Study design:Cross-sectional, observational study.Objective:Estimate prevalence of inadequate dietary intakes in community-dwelling men and women with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).Setting:Ontario, Canada.Methods:In-home interviewer administered multiple-pass 24-h recalls were collected at baseline (n=77) and at 6 months (n=68). Dietary intake (adjusted to remove intra-individual variation) was compared with the dietary reference intakes (DRIs), specifically the estimated average requirement, adequate intake (AI) and acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges (AMDR).Results:Macronutrient intakes, as percentages of daily energy, for men (16% protein, 52% carbohydrate, 30% fat) and women (17% protein, 53% carbohydrate, 28% fat) were within the AMDR. Despite this, inadequate intakes for men (n=63) and women (n=14) were determined for vitamin A (92 and 57%), magnesium (89 and 71%), folate (75 and 79%), zinc (71 and 29%), vitamin C (52 and 14%), thiamine (22 and 14%), vitamin B12 (6 and 29%), riboflavin (5% men) and vitamin B6 (24% men). Mean usual intakes of fiber, vitamin D, calcium and potassium fell below the AI for men and women. In all, 53% of participants consumed a micronutrient supplement in the previous 24 h at baseline and at 6 months—specifically, calcium (29, 19%), multivitamin (26, 25%), vitamin D (22, 12%) and vitamin C (9, 6%).Conclusion:Our results show numerous nutrient inadequacies, relative to the DRIs, for men and women with SCI. This study has important implications for clinical dietetic practice in the SCI population.Sponsorship:Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Authors

Walters JL; Buchholz AC; Martin Ginis KA

Journal

Spinal Cord, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 318–322

Publisher

Springer Nature

Publication Date

January 1, 2009

DOI

10.1038/sc.2008.134

ISSN

1362-4393

Contact the Experts team