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Spinal Cord Injury Association
______________________________

of Illinois

1032 S. LaGrange Road - LaGrange, Illinois 60525-2865 - (708) 352-6223 - Fax: (708) 352-9065

E-Mail: SCIInjury@aol.com

Spinal Cord Injury Association of Illinois is a member of Community Health Charities of Illinois. For "Equal-opportunity-choices" in your payroll deduction program contact Mercedes Rauen, Spinal Cord Injury Association of Illinois, 708-352-6223.

SPINAL CORD INJURY STATISTICAL INFORMATION

Although there is more information available about people who have a spinal cord injury than ever before, much of it is incomplete. Some of the statistical data is summarized below.

40 cases per million population, or

approximately 10,000 new cases each year.

Very little information is known about disease-induced spinal cord injury, except brief descriptions of the diseases. The following information relates to traumatic spinal cord injury. It was compiled primarily by researchers at the University of Alabama, using data from the regional SCI centers funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). For more information on spinal cord injury statistics, call the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center in Birmingham, Alabama at (205) 934-5049, or on the web at www.spinalcord.uab.edu.

New Injuries per Year in the United States

Most researchers feel that these numbers represent significant under-reporting. Injuries not recorded include cases where the patient dies instantaneously or soon after the injury, cases with little or no remaining neurological deficit, and people who have neurologic problems secondary to trauma but are not classified as spinal cord injury. Researchers estimate that an additional 20 cases per million (4,860 per year) die before reaching the hospital.

People with Spinal Cord Injury

  • 82% Male, 18% Female
  • Highest per capital rate of injury occurs between ages 16-30; there is a trend that shows an increase in the population of those who were at least 61 years of age at the time of injury.
  • The average age at injury is 31.5 years old; the most frequent age at injury is 19 years.

  • Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of spinal cord injury (37.4%), followed by acts of violence (primarily gunshot wounds) at 25.9%, falls at 21.5%, sports injuries account for 7.1%, and other causes at 7.9%. Motor vehicle crash injuries have shown a steady decline, while injuries sustained by acts of violence have increased since 1973.

- Two-thirds of all sports injuries are from diving.

- Falls overtake motor vehicles as leading cause of injury after age 45.
  • Marital Status at Injury: Most people (53.7%) are single when injured; those injured while married account for about 31% and divorced 9%
  • Five Year's Post-Injury Marital Status: 88% of single people with spinal cord injury were still single vs. 65% of the non-spinal cord injury population. 81% of married people with spinal cord injury were still married, vs. 89% of the non-spinal cord injury population.
  • Employment among persons between the ages of 16 and 59 years at injury is 63.4%. People who returned to work in the first year post-injury usually returned to the same job for the same employer. People who returned to work after the first year post-injury either worked for different employers or were students who subsequently found work. At eight years post-injury, 37% of persons with paraplegia and 30% with tetraplegia are employed.
    •

    The Injury

    Persons with tetraplegia (51.9%) have sustained injuries to one of the eight cervical segments of the spinal cord. Those with paraplegia (46.8%) have lesions in the thoracic, lumbar, or sacral regions of the spinal cord. For the remaining persons, 0.7% recover prior to discharge and 0.6% are persons for whom information is not available.

    Since 1991, the most frequent neurologic category is complete paraplegia. Trends over time indicate an increasing proportion of persons with incomplete paraplegia and a decreasing proportion of persons with complete tetraplegia.

    Complete Paraplegia

    28.9%
    Incomplete Paraplegia 21.8%
    Incomplete Tetraplegia 28.6%
    Complete Tetraplegia 18.4%

    Hospitalization

    This section contains information on persons who were admitted to one of the hospitals designated as “Model” SCI centers by the NIDRR.

    Overall, average days hospitalized in an acute care unit have declined from 25 days in 1974 to 15 days in 1996. Downward trends are also noted for days in a rehabilitation unit, from 115 days to 40 days. Overall, mean days hospitalized were greater for persons with neurologically complete injuries..
    It is now known that the length of stay and hospital charges for acute care and initial rehabilitation are higher for cases where admission to the SCI system is delayed beyond 24 hours.
    After the Hospital

    • Today, 88.9% of all persons with spinal cord injury who are discharged alive from the system are sent to a private, non-institutional residence (in most cases, their homes before injury). Only 4.3% are discharged to nursing homes. The remaining are discharged to hospitals, group living situations, or other destinations.
    • There is no apparent relationship between the severity of injury and nursing home admission, indicating that admission is caused by other factors (i.e., family can’t take care of person, medical complications, etc.). Nursing home admission is more common among elderly persons.
    • Each year, one third to one half of all people with spinal cord injury are re-admitted to the hospital. There is no difference in the rate of re-admission between persons with paraplegia and tetraplegia, but there is a difference between the rate for those with complete and incomplete injuries

    Life Expectancy

    Life expectancy is the average remaining years of life for an individual. Life expectancies for persons with spinal cord injury continue to increase, but are still somewhat below life expectancies for those with no spinal cord injury. Mortality rates are significantly higher during the first year after injury than during subsequent years, particularly for severely injured persons.

    Persons who Survive the First 24 Hours
    Age at Injury
    		 No Sci
    Motor Functional at Any Level
    Ventilator Dependent at Any Level
    High Tetra(C1-C4)
    Low Tetra (C5-C8)
    Para
    20 yrs.
    56.9
    50.2
    15.1
    32.7
    38.1
    43.7
    40 yrs.
    38.1
    32.3
    6.8
    18.0
    22.1
    26.7
    60 yrs.
    20.9
    16.2
    1.0
    6.5
    9.1
    12.1

     

    Persons Surviving at Least One Year Post-Injury
    Age at Injury
    		 No Sci
    Motor Functional at Any Level
    Ventilator Dependent at Any Level
    High Tetra(C1-C4)
    Low Tetra (C5-C8)
    Para
    20 yrs.
    56.7
    51.2
    26.3
    36.2
    40.1
    44.9
    40 yrs.
    38.1
    33.3
    13.6
    20.7
    23.7
    27.7
    60 yrs.
    20.9
    17.3
    4.0
    8.1
    10
    12.8


    In years past, the leading cause of death among persons with spinal cord injury was renal failure; today, however, significant advances in urologic management have resulted in dramatic shifts in the leading causes of death. Persons enrolled in the National Spinal Cord Injury Database since its inception in 1973 have now been followed for 24 years after injury.

    During that time, the causes of death that appear to have the greatest impact on reduced life expectancy for this population are pneumonia, pulmonary emboli and septicemia.