Article

OBJECTIVES: To describe health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in persons with
traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) and to assess factors that affect HRQoL.
STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional. METHODS: Eighty Estonian-speaking TSCI patients
from the Estonian TSCI database were included in the study.
The RAND-36 questionnaire,
the Life Orientation Test,
the Emotional State Questionnaire and the Brief Social Support Questionnaire were used. RESULTS: There were 66 men and
14 women; the mean age was 38.9+/-14.8 years. The mean time that had elapsed
since injury was 4.2 years. According to the RAND-36 scales, the lowest scores
were given for physical health-related domains, followed by the energy/fatigue
and the general health domains. The regression analysis adjusted to age and
gender revealed that age, employment and category of the American Spinal Injury
Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale during the acute phase of injury were
significant factors in predicting physical functioning (P<0.001). Age, depression
and general anxiety were significant predictors of emotional well-being
(P<0.001). Age and depression were independently associated with general health
(P<0.001). CONCLUSION: As expected, physical functioning and physical role
limitation were the most pronounced deficits in HRQoL. Compared with data from
other countries, all scores for the RAND-36 scales are lower in Estonian TSCI
patients. The HRQoL following TSCI is affected by severity of injury, depression,
age and employment status.

Langue : ANGLAIS