title: Survival after spinal cord injury in Finland.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mortality, cause of death and risk indicators for death among patients with traumatic spinal cord injury were investigated over a 30-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study with retrospective data.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients (n = 1647) aged 16 years and over who had sustained traumatic spinal cord injury during the period 1976-2005, who were admitted to Käpylä Rehabilitation Centre, Helsinki, Finland, participated in the study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Demographic and clinical data were collected from the registers of Käpylä Rehabilitation Centre. Cause-specific mortality was assessed using Statistics Finland's official cause-of-death register.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the observation period (1976-2007) 419 patients died. The main causes of death were respiratory disease (28%), cardiovascular disease (21%), suicide (10%) and external causes (9.5%). The mean age at death was 55.5 years for men and 58.2 years for women. Ten-year survival was 97.9%. Mortality was significantly affected by age at onset of injury, neurological level and extent of lesion. Survival of traumatic spinal cord injury patients was approximately 50% that of the general population, and survival of the general population was 80% during the follow-up period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results support the need for improvements in long-term rehabilitative care and regular follow-up of patients with traumatic spinal cord injury. The importance of psychosocial follow-up services must be emphasized.
authors.affiliation: Käpylä Rehabilitation Centre, Finnish Association of People with Mobility Disabilities, Nordenskiöldinkatu 18 B, FI-00251 Helsinki, Finland. eija.ahoniemi@invalidiliitto.fi
authors.forename: Eija
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ahoniemi
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pohjolainen
authors.forename: Hannu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kautiainen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002423:Cause of Death; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D055815:Young Adult