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 Spinal Cord Injury
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Spinal Cord Injury (SCI): Fact Sheet 
 

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Occurrence

  • Nearly 200,000 people in the U.S. live with a disability related to a spinal cord injury (SCI) (Berkowitz 1998).
     

  • Approximately 11,000 Americans sustain an SCI each year (CDC unpublished data).
     

  • The leading cause of SCI varies by age. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause among persons under age 65. Among persons age 65 and older, falls cause most SCIs (CDC unpublished data).
     

  • Sports and recreation activities cause an estimated 18% of SCI cases (Berkowitz 1998).

 


Consequences

Secondary conditions are a major health issue for people living with SCI. Secondary conditions are negative health outcomes that occur as a direct result of a SCI-related disability. The most common secondary conditions are pressure sores, respiratory complications, urinary tract infections, spasticity, and scoliosis (Meyers 2000; McKinley 1999).


Cost

  • SCIs cost the nation an estimated $9.7 billion each year (Berkowitz 1998).
     

  • The annual cost of treating pressure sores alone is estimated at $1.2 billion (Byrne and Salzberg 1996).

 
Groups at Risk

  • Males are more likely than females to sustain an SCI.
      

  • African Americans are at higher risk than whites for SCI. 
     

  • More than half of the people who sustain SCIs are 15 to 29 years old (CDC unpublished data).

Groups at Risk For Secondary Conditions
Some studies suggest that smoking, poor nutrition, and lack of transportation are risk factors for secondary conditions associated with SCI (Meyers 2000). However, more research is needed in this area.

 
Prevention Strategies


This section was developed for public health professionals and practitioners in spinal cord injury (SCI) prevention and treatment. Public health strategies to prevent SCI include (adapted from CDC, Report and Recommendations to the Advisory Committee for Injury Prevention and Control on the Interagency Meeting on Spinal Cord Injury, unpublished to date):

  • Implementing programs that reduce or eliminate behavioral and environmental risk factors, and provide behavioral and environmental protective factors;

  • Evaluating the effectiveness of current community-based intervention programs and sharing lessons learned; 

  • Engaging the general public, policy makers, and healthcare practitioners in prevention programs; 

  • Continuing to support collaborative prevention efforts in areas such as transportation, falls, and firearms. 

 
References

Berkowitz M, O’Leary P, Kruse D, Harvey C. Spinal cord injury: An analysis of medical and social costs. New York: Demos Medical Publishing Inc., 1998. 

Byrne D.W., Salzberg C.A. Major risk factors for pressure ulcers in the spinal cord disabled: a literature review. Spinal Cord 1996; 34: 255-263.

CDC. Current trends football-related injuries among high-school players–Louisiana, 1989. MMWR 1990; 39(34): 586.

Report and Recommendations to the Advisory Committee for Injury Prevention and Control on the Interagency Meeting on Spinal Cord Injury. CDC. Unpublished.

McKinley W, Jackson A, Cardenas D, DeVivo M. Long-term medical complications after traumatic spinal cord injury: A regional model system analysis. Archives Physical Medical Rehabilitation 1999; Vol. 80: 1402-1409.

Meyers A, Mitra M, Walker D, Wilber N, Allen D. Predictors of secondary conditions in a sample of independently living adults with high-level spinal cord injury. Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation 2000. 6(1):1-7.

Northwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury System, University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. Bowel Care (parts 1 and 2), Revised. Seattle (WA); 1998.

Northwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury System, University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. Maintaining Healthy Skin (parts 1 and 2), Revised. Seattle (WA); 1998.

Northwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury System, University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. Pressure Sores, Revised. Seattle (WA); 1998.

Northwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury System, University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. Urinary Tract Infections, Revised. Seattle (WA); 1998.

Northwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury System, University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. Indwelling (Foley) Catheter, Revised. Seattle (WA); 1998.

Spinal cord surveillance data from AR, CO, GA, LA, MS, UT 1990 -1994. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Unpublished.

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