Original Article

Longitudinal study of body composition in spinal cord injury patients Roop Singh, Rajesh K Rohilla, Gaurav Saini, Kiranpreet Kaur1

Abstract Background: Bone mass loss and muscle atrophy are the frequent complications occurring after spinal cord injury (SCI). The potential risks involved with these changes in the body composition have implications for the health of the SCI individual. Thus, there is a need to quantitate and monitor body composition changes accurately in an individual with SCI. Very few longitudinal studies have been reported in the literature to assess body composition and most include relatively small number of patients. The present prospective study aimed to evaluate the body composition changes longitudinally by DEXA in patients with acute SCI. Materials and Methods: Ninety five patients with acute SCI with neurological deficits were evaluated for bone mineral content (BMC), body composition [lean body mass (LBM) and fat mass] by dual‑energy X‑ray absorptiometry during the first year of SCI. Results: There was a significant decrease in BMC (P