Aging, spinal cord injury, and quality of life: structural relationships.
OBJECTIVE
To quantify relationships among 3 sets of factors: demographic factors, health and disability factors, and quality of life (QOL).


METHODS
Part of a program of longitudinal research on aging and spinal cord injury (SCI) involving 3 populations: American, British, and Canadian. The present analysis uses data from the 1999 interval.


METHODS
The Canadian sample was derived from the member database of the Ontario and Manitoba divisions of the Canadian Paraplegic Association. The British sample was recruited from a national and a regional SCI center in England. The American sample was recruited through a hospital in Colorado.


METHODS
A sample of 352 participants was assembled from 4 large, well-established databases. The sample included individuals who had incurred an SCI at least 20 years earlier, were admitted to rehabilitation within 1 year of injury, and were between the ages of 15 and 55 at the time of injury.


METHODS
Not applicable.


METHODS
A combination of self-completed questionnaires and interviews. Data included demographics, injury-related variables, health and disability-related factors, QOL, and perceptions about aging.


RESULTS
Using linear structural relationships modeling, we found that QOL was affected both directly and indirectly by age, health and disability problems, and perceptions of aging. Two surprising findings were as follows: those who experienced fewer disability-related problems were more likely to report a qualitative disadvantage in aging, and the younger members of the sample were more likely to report fatigue.


CONCLUSIONS
Fatigue is a concern because of the relationship of fatigue with perceived temporal disadvantage in aging, health problems, and disability problems. This finding highlights the need for clinical vigilance among those just beginning to experience the effects of aging.
McColl
Mary Ann
MA
Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada. mccollm@post.queensu.ca
Arnold
Robert
R
Charlifue
Susan
S
Glass
Clive
C
Savic
Gordana
G
Frankel
Hans
H
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003120:Colorado / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires