EXPECTATIONS OF LIFE AND HEALTH AMONG SPINAL-CORD INJURED ADULTS

While our understanding of aging and mortality in spinal cold injury i s evolving. precise estimates are still nor available for expectations of life and health following a spinal cord injury. In order to derive these estimates, information about mortality and health must be combi ned into a single estimate. Health expectancy estimates have been wide ly used in the literature of the last decade to try to understand tile relationship between population health and survival. both in the gene ral population and in special populations. This study brought the bene fit of this methodology to the question of long-term survival followin g spinal cord injury. Specifically, the study aimed to calculate life and health expectancy in a population of spinal cord injured individua ls: and, to estimate the effect of factors associated with survival an d health, The study involved a retrospective cohort. all of whom susta ined a spinal cord injury between the ages of 25 and 34 years, and bet ween 1945 and 1990, The study predicted a median survival time of 38 p ears post-injury. with 43% surviving at least 10 years. These findings suggest an increase in life expectancy of about 5 years over previous research on the same cohort.(1) Factors affecting survival were age a t injury. level and completeness of lesion, Expectations of health fou nd in the present study are similar to those found in studies of the g eneral population.(2) This study showed seven remaining years of poor health expected at injury, and five remaining years expected at 40 yea rs post injury, presumably occuring at the end of life.