Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39392470›Full record

Observational studyThe journal of spinal cord medicine2025

Cardiovascular autonomic function in middle-aged people with long-term cervical and upper thoracic spinal cord injuries.

Mattias Hill, Sophie Jörgensen, Gunnar Engström, Margaretha Persson, Pyotr G Platonov, Viktor Hamrefors, Jan Lexell

Registry-linked trialAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in The journal of spinal cord medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03515122 (The Swedish Spinal Cord Injury Study on Cardiopulmonary and Autonomic Impairment), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03515122 completednot on this map

The Swedish Spinal Cord Injury Study on Cardiopulmonary and Autonomic Impairment

TypeobservationalSponsorLund UniversityRan2017 to 2018Enrolled125ConditionsSpinal Cord Injuries, Cardiovascular Diseases, Pulmonary Disease, Autonomic Dysfunction
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Mattias HillDepartment of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-1365-9483
Sophie JörgensenDepartment of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Gunnar EngströmDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
Margaretha PerssonDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
Pyotr G PlatonovDepartment of Cardiology, Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Viktor HamreforsDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
Jan LexellDepartment of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo examine cardiovascular autonomic function in middle-aged people with long-term cervical and upper thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI) compared with the general population, and explore if the neurological level of injury (NLI) is related to cardiovascular autonomic function.

designPopulation-based cross-sectional study with matched controls.

settingOutpatient SCI unit in Southern Sweden.

participantsTwenty-five individuals (20% women, mean age 58 years and mean time since injury 28 years, NLI C2-T6, American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale A-C) from the Swedish SPinal Cord Injury Study on Cardiopulmonary and Autonomic Impairment (SPICA). Matched controls were obtained from the population-based Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) at a ratio of 5:1.

interventionsNot applicable. OUTCOME MEASURES: 24 h electrocardiography and deep breathing tests. 24 h ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring and orthostatic BP tests.

resultsIn individuals with SCI compared with controls, heart rate variability (24h mean SD of the normal-to-normal interval 112 ms vs 145 ms, P < 0.001) and diastolic orthostatic BP increase (2.0 and 9.4 mmHg, P < 0.001), were significantly lower, whereas BP variability was significantly higher (24h mean systolic SD

conclusionsThis exploratory study indicates that cardiovascular autonomic function is impaired in middle-aged people with long-term cervical and upper thoracic SCI compared with the general non-SCI population, and more pronounced with a higher NLI. Future research is needed to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these impairments, and the prognostic significance for individuals with SCI.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03515122.

Indexed as

Autonomic Nervous SystemSpinal Cord InjuriesAdultAgedBlood PressureBlood Pressure Monitoring, AmbulatoryCervical CordCervical VertebraeCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHeart RateHumansMaleMiddle AgedThoracic VertebraeAutonomic nervous systemCardiovascular diseasesSpinal cord diseases

Identifiers

PMID39392470
PMCPMC12035942

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.