According to new data released late in January, spinal cord injuries (SCI) are on the rise in the US. Research has also revealed the leading cause is no longer car accidents, but falls – including slip-and-falls, according to data organized by Johns Hopkins.
The Johns Hopkins’ research also shows that spinal cord injuries, including severity levels ranging from temporary numbness to permanent paralysis, are increasing significantly among older adults. By extension, this new trend suggests that an increase in fall prevention initiatives and safety measures for older people could significantly mitigate the frequency of spinal cord injuries. Shalini Selvarajah, M.D., M.P.H., a postdoctoral surgical research fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and leader of the study, said:
“It’s an area that is ripe for prevention. We have demonstrated how costly traumatic spinal cord injury is and how lethal and disabling it can be among older people.”
Spinal Cord Injury Among Seniors is Rising
For their study, Johns Hopkins researchers analyzed a national sample of 43,137 adults treated in US hospital emergency rooms for spinal cord injury between 2007 and 2009. While the incidence among adults ages 18 to 64 ranged from 52.3 per 1 million in 2007 to 49.9 per 1 million in 2009, the incidence per million in those ages 65 and older increased from 79.4 in 2007 to 87.7 in 2009.
Falls ranked as the leading cause of spinal cord injury over the three-year study period (41.5 percent), followed by car accidents (35.5 percent). Fall-related spinal cord injuries increased during the study timeframe overall. Among older adults, they increased from 23.6 percent to 30 percent of all traumatic injuries.
The average age of adults with a traumatic spinal cord injury from 2000 to 2005 was 41; while this latest study suggests it is now 51. Study investigators say that even while accounting for injury severity and other health conditions, older adults who experience a spinal cord injury are four times more likely to die in the emergency room from when compared to younger adults. If they survive the initial injury and are admitted to the hospital, they are six times more likely to die during their stay.
Longevity and Better Health Care Potential Reasons for Rising Age of Spinal Cord Injury Patients
While the researchers say they can’t pinpoint an exact explanation as to why falls have surpassed car crashes as the top cause of traumatic spinal cord injury, they believe it may be a combination of the general aging of the population, more active lifestyles of many adults over age 65, and airbags and seat belt laws that offer increased protect to drivers and passengers in severe automobile crashes. Edward R. Hammond, M.D., Ph.D., a research associate at the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at Kennedy Krieger Institute and another of the study’s leaders, noted:
“We are seeing a changing face in the epidemiology of spinal cord injury.”
Beyond the personal toll of disability and death, spinal cord injuries are a growing financial burden on the already strained American health care system, according to the researchers. They estimate that between 2007 and 2009, emergency room charges alone for traumatic spinal cord injury patients reached close to $1.6 billion.
According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, the approximate lifetime costs of care for someone with a serious spinal cord injury can range anywhere from $1 million to $5 million, depending on the age of the person at the time of injury and the severity of the injury. Improvements in rehabilitation care are leading to longer life expectancies for spinal cord injury patients.
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