Article

OBJECTIVE: To document trends in the demographic and injury profile of new spinal
cord injury (SCI) over time. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of longitudinal
data by injury years (1972-1979, 1980-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2014).
SETTING: Twenty-eight Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems centers throughout the
United States. PARTICIPANTS: Persons with traumatic SCI
(N=30,881) enrolled in
the National Spinal Cord Injury Database. INTERVENTIONS:
Not applicable. MAIN
OUTCOME MEASURES: Age, sex, race, education level, employment, marital status,
etiology, and severity of injury. RESULTS: Age at injury has increased from 28.7
years in the 1970s to 42.2 years during 2010 to 2014.
This aging phenomenon was
noted for both sexes, all races, and all etiologies except acts of violence. The
percentage of racial minorities expanded continuously over the last 5 decades.
Virtually among all age groups, the average education levels and percentage of
single/never married status have increased, which is similar to the trends noted
in the general population. Although vehicular crashes continue to be the leading
cause of SCI overall, the percentage has declined from 47.0% in the 1970s to
38.1% during 2010 to 2014. Injuries caused by falls have increased over time,
particularly among those aged >/=46 years. Progressive increases in the
percentages of high cervical and motor incomplete injuries were noted for various
age, sex, race, and etiology groups. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings call for
geriatrics expertise and intercultural competency of the clinical team in the
acute and rehabilitation care for SCI. This study also highlights the need for a
multidimensional risk assessment and multifactorial intervention, especially to
reduce falls and SCI in older adults.
CI - Copyright (c) 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS