Aging with spinal cord injury: changes in selected health indices and life satisfaction.
OBJECTIVE
To document the impact of age, age at injury, years postinjury, and injury severity on changes over time in selected physical and psychosocial outcomes of people aging with spinal cord injury (SCI), and to identify the best predictors of these outcomes.


METHODS
Retrospective cross-sectional and longitudinal examination of people with SCI.


METHODS
Follow-up of people who received initial rehabilitation in a regional Model Spinal Cord Injury System.


METHODS
People who meet the inclusion criteria for the National Spinal Cord Injury Database were studied at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years postinjury.


METHODS
Not applicable.


METHODS
Number of pressure ulcers, number of times rehospitalized, number of days rehospitalized, perceived health status, satisfaction with life, and pain during the most recent follow-up year.


RESULTS
The number of days rehospitalized and frequency of rehospitalizations decreased and the number of pressure ulcers increased as time passed. For the variables of pressure ulcers, poor perceived health, the perception of pain and lower life satisfaction, the best predictor of each outcome was the previous existence or poor rating of that same outcome.


CONCLUSIONS
Common complications of SCI often herald the recurrence of those same complications at a later point in time, highlighting the importance of early intervention to prevent future health and psychosocial difficulties.
Charlifue
Susan
S
Craig Hospital, Englewood, CO 80113, USA.
Lammertse
Daniel P
DP
Adkins
Rodney H
RH
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology