SPINAL-CORD INJURY INCIDENCE IN MISSISSIPPI - A CAPTURE-RECAPTURE APPROACH

Background: Many studies have investigated spinal cord injury incidenc e rates, Few, however, have adjusted for the underascertainment, The c urrent study used the capture-recapture method to estimate the ascerta inment-corrected spinal cord injury incidence rate in Mississippi. Met hods: Two sources were used for case ascertainment: Mississippi's spin al cord injury registry and hospital reports. The two-sample capture-r ecapture method was used to adjust for undercount, Results: Two hundre d one spinal cord injuries were reported to or found by the Mississipp i State Department of Health in 1993, with a crude incidence rate of 7 .8 per 100,000 population per gear among hospital admissions and preho spital fatalities, Using the two-sample capture-recapture method, it i s estimated that the incidence rate would be 9.3 per 100,000 populatio n per year. Conclusion: Capture-recapture estimates suggest that Missi ssippi's spinal cord injury incidence rate is more than twice the nati onal average.