title: Spinal cord injuries. Clinical, functional, and emotional status.
abstract: Ninety-eight patients with traumatic spinal cord injury, at a median age of 33.5 years (range, 16-72 years), with nonremarkable distributions of neurologic characteristics were investigated at a median of 2.3 years (range, 0.1-23 years) after injury. Functioning, mood disturbances, and overall quality of life were recorded with established self-assessment instruments. Physical dysfunction levels were moderate, being proportionate to neurologic impairment. Psychosocial functions, mood states, and quality-of-life perceptions did not differ from those of a control population sample. Psychosocial function and mood disturbances varied greatly during the first 4 years after injury, but patients' later recordings expressed predominantly a balanced emotional state and a rewarding social life. Progress in this direction consisted of clearly lessened physical dysfunction 1 year after injury and better psychosocial function and well-being after 2 years, whereas patterns of social activities and contacts became gradually less inhibited during a 4-year period after injury. Analysis of complications in patients' histories that affected function and mood showed severe pain to be the only complication that related to lower quality-of-life scores. Urinary incontinence and infection and autonomous dysreflexia related to inhibited self-care performance; spasticity related to impaired ambulation and feeding skills. Gainful employment was the only demographic factor linked to high quality-of-life scores.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Göteborg University, Sweden.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lundqvist
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Siösteen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blomstrand
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lind
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000523:psychology*; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*