Lipid Profiles of Persons With Paraplegia and Tetraplegia: Sex Differences

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: To examine the lipoprotein profiles of men and women with paraplegia and tetraplegia. Impairment of the sympathetic nervous system (dependent on the level of injury) and the extent of physical capacity and activity were correlated with the lipid profile in men with spinal cord injury (SCI). Sex-related differences of the lipoprotein profiles could be found in nondisabled and premenopausal women with SCI mainly because of the different effects of sexual hormones. METHODS: Lipoprotein profiles of 112 participants with SCI (32 premenopausal women, 80 men) were analyzed and correlated to sex, lesion level, and physical performance capacity. RESULTS: Women with tetraplegia or paraplegia showed significantly higher levels of high-density lipoprotein and lower ratios of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol compared with men with corresponding lesion levels, without a difference in peak oxygen consumption. Concentrations of very-low-density lipoproteins were lower in women with paraplegia than in men with paraplegia; no differences were found in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and triglycerides. Sex-independent elevations in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol were associated with paraplegia, and sex-independent elevations in triglyceride levels were associated with tetraplegia. CONCLUSIONS: Persons with SCI showed sex-related differences in their lipoprotein profiles. Independent of physical fitness, the lipoprotein profile of premenopausal women with SCI did not exhibit the adverse lipoprotein characteristics observed in men with SCI, probably because of the influence of sexual hormones independent of lesion level.