Comparison of basal metabolic rate in individuals with a spinal cord injury and Harris-Benedict equation: a systematic review

Tables for calculating the energy expenditure of the physical activities of the general population cannot be used due to the different paralysis of the upper or lower limbs in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). The purpose of this review is to compare the differences in the values of basal metabolic rate (BMR), basal energy expenditure (BEE), resting energy expenditure (REE) and resting metabolic rate (RMR) the values evidenced in the literature, observed values vs predicted values using the Harris-Benedict equation. We realized the background research from the time period from 1985 to 2018. We searched in PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases for articles addressing the relationship between BMR and people with SCI. We compared the parameters of BMR, BEE, REE and RMR according to Harris-Benedict (HB) equation for persons with SCI. The study confirmed that the energy expenditure of persons with SCI could not be evaluated correctly by the Harris-Benedict equation.