Nutritional supplement usage in patients admitted to a spinal cord injury center

Objectives To (1) assess food intake; (2) establish the prevalence of dietary supplement usage and its associated cost (oral nutritional supplements (ONS); vitamin and mineral supplements (VMS)) and; (3) identify the characteristics of nutritional supplement users among patients admitted to a spinal cord injury (SCI) center. Study design A single center survey. Methods Standardized questionnaires were used to collect demographic information, food consumption over a 24-hour period, and the use of nutritional supplements. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the characteristics of dietary supplement usage and those using them. Results Seventy-three patients with SCI completed and returned the questionnaires (69.5% response rate). From 67 questionnaires with food intake data, 21 patients (31.3%) consumed three full meals a day. Nine of the full 73 patients (12.3%) received artificial nutritional support, 14 of 73 (19.1%) received ONS, 34 of 73 (46.5%) received VMS, and 31 of 73 (42.4%) requ...