Aging with spinal cord injury: Changes in selected health indices and life satisfaction

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Study documented 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. Data was collected from the National Spinal Cord Injury Database. Outcomes of interest at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years postinjury included: number of pressure ulcers, number of times rehospitalized, perceived health status, satisfaction with life, and pain during the most recent follow-up year. Analysis revealed that the frequency of rehospitalizations and number of days rehospitalized decreased and the number of pressure ulcers increased as time passed. The previous existence or poor rating of pressure ulcers, poor perceived health, the perception of pain, and lower life satisfaction was the best predictor of that outcome.

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