Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 6, 2025
Paradigms of Lower Extremity Electrical Stimulation Training After Spinal Cord Injury
Published on: February 1, 2018
Predicting resting energy expenditure in people with chronic spinal cord injury
Yiming Ma1,2, Sonja de Groot3,4, Dirk Hoevenaars3,4
1Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. yiming.ma@vu.nl.
Study Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Objectives:
The aims of this study were (1) to validate the two recently developed SCI-specific REE equations; (2) to develop new prediction equations to predict REE in a general population with SCI.
Setting:
University, the Netherlands.
Methods:
Forty-eight community-dwelling men and women with SCI were recruited (age: 18-75 years, time since injury: ≥12 months). Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), single-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (SF-BIA) and skinfold thickness. REE was measured by indirect calorimetry. Personal and lesion characteristics were collected. SCI-specific REE equations by Chun et al. [1] and by Nightingale and Gorgey [2] were validated. New equations for predicting REE were developed using multivariate regression analysis.
Results:
Prediction equations by Chun et al. [1] and by Nightingale and Gorgey [2] significantly underestimated REE (Chun et al.: -11%; Nightingale and Gorgey: -11%). New equations were developed for predicting REE in the general population of people with SCI using FFM measured by SF-BIA and Goosey-Tolfrey et al. skinfold equation (R2 = 0.45-0.47; SEE = 200 kcal/day). The new equations showed proportional bias (p < 0.001) and wide limits of agreement (LoA, ±23%).
Conclusions:
Prediction equations by Chun et al. [1] and by Nightingale and Gorgey [2] significantly underestimated REE and showed large individual variations in a general population with SCI. The newly developed REE equations showed proportional bias and a wide LoA (±23%) which limit the predictive power and accuracy to predict REE in the general population with SCI. Alternative methods for measuring REE need to be investigated.
