Kolkata: Every year, around the world, between 250 000 and 500 000 people suffer a spinal cord injury (SCI), according to the World Health Organization (WHO) report.The majority of spinal cord injuries are due to preventable causes such as road traffic crashes, falls or violence.The term ‘spinal cord injury’ refers to damage to the spinal cord resulting from trauma (e.g. a car crash) or from disease or degeneration (e.g. cancer).There is no reliable estimate of global prevalence, but estimated annual global incidence is 40 to 80 cases per million population. Up to 90 per cent of these cases are due to traumatic causes, though the proportion of non-traumatic spinal cord injury appears to be growing.
Symptoms of spinal cord injury depend on the severity of injury and its location on the spinal cord. Symptoms may include partial or complete loss of sensory function or motor control of arms, legs and/or body.The most severe spinal cord injury affects the systems that regulate bowel or bladder control, breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. Most people with spinal cord injury experience chronic pain.Males are most at risk in young adulthood (20-29 years) and older age (70+). Females are most at risk in adolescence (15-19) and older age (60+). Studies report male-to-female ratios of at least 2:1 among adults, sometimes much higher.
Mortality risk is highest in the first year after injury and remains high compared to the general population. People with spinal cord injury are 2 to 5 times more likely to die prematurely than people without SCI.Mortality risk increases with injury level and severity and is strongly influenced by the availability of timely, quality medical care. Transfer method to hospital after injury and time to hospital admission are important factors.
Preventable secondary conditions (e.g. infections from untreated pressure ulcers) are no longer among the leading causes of death of people with spinal cord injury in high-income countries, but these conditions remain the main causes of death of people with spinal cord injury in low-income countries.