A Review of the Potential for Cardiometabolic Dysfunction in Youth with Spina Bifida and the Role for Physical Activity and Structured Exercise

Table 1

Summary of published outcomes for body composition, physical function, and metabolic and vascular risk factors in people with spina bifida (SB).

Outcome	Increased in SB	Decreased in SB	Not different in SB
Body mass index, for age and sex	- Non-amb children [10]		- Amb and non-amb children [15]
	- Amb children [11]^*
	- Children and young adults [12]
	- Amb and non-amb adults [15]
	- Children [16]
Total body fat (%)	- Non-amb children [10]
	- Children and young adults [12]		- Amb children [11]^*
	- Children [13, 14, 16]
Abdominal fat (%)	- Children and young adults [12]
	- Obese children [25]^*
Lean body mass (%)		- Children [14, 16]
Aerobic capacity		- Non-amb children [10]
		- Amb children [11]^*
		- Non-amb children and young adults [17]^*
		- Amb children and young adults [17]^*
		- Amb children [33]
Muscle strength	- Non-amb children [10]
	- Amb children [11]^*
	- Non-amb children and young adults [17]^*
	- Amb children and young adults [17]^*
Absolute energy cost of walking or wheelchair use		- Non-amb children and young adults [18]	- Amb children and young adults [18]
Requirement of physical reserve for activities of daily living	- Non-amb children and young adults [18]
	- Amb children and young adults [18]
Total daily physical activity	- Amb children [11]^*
	- Non-amb children [19]
	- Amb children [19]
	- Non-amb children and young adults [20]^*
	- Amb children and young adults [20]^*
Glucose		- Children and young adults [12]	- Obese children [25]^*
Insulin			- Children and young adults [12]
HOMA-IR	- Obese children [25]^*		- Children and young adults [12]
Total cholesterol	- Amb and non-amb girls [26]		- Children and young adults [12]
			- Amb and non-amb girls [26]
LDL-cholesterol			- Children and young adults [12]
			- Amb and non-amb girls [26]
HDL-Cholesterol			- Children and young adults [12]
			- Amb and non-amb girls [26]
Triglycerides			- Amb and non-amb children [26]
Homocysteine	- Amb and non-amb children [28]
Blood pressure	- Amb and non-amb children and young adults [27]		- Obese children [25]^*

All comparisons refer to outcomes for people with SB relative to people without SB. Results from people with SCI or other spinal disorders are not included in this table according to the descriptions presented in the individual studies. ^*Comparison is relative to published or unpublished values from prior studies; all other investigations used a specifically recruited comparison group within their study design. Amb: ambulatory; Non-amb: nonambulatory. If not specified, ambulatory status was not stated in the cited study. In some studies “amb and non-amb” designation is used because the results for ambulatory and nonambulatory participants were not presented separately. The designation for children and adults in the cited studies is defined as <18 or ≥18 years old, respectively. In some studies, results from children and adults were not presented separately.