Citation

van den Berg M, Castellote JM, Mahillo I, de Pedro J. J. Neurotrauma 2011; 28(3): 469-477.

Affiliation

Madrid, Spain; maayken@hotmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/neu.2010.1608

PMID

21190391

Abstract

Long-term incidence studies are required to identify high-risk groups, establish trends and forecast needs, hence contribute to health care planning in spinal cord injury (SCI). This study aimed to determine the incidence of traumatic SCI over a 36 years period in Aragón, Spain, and compare rates with other published European estimates. Hospital records from the Servet Hospital, the only specialized SCI unit in the region, of a retrospective cohort with traumatic SCI between January 1972 and December 2008 were reviewed. Specification of SCI patient demographics, injury causes and related factors was achieved utilizing medical records available for inpatients, hospital archives and central databases. A total of 540 cases were reported over the 37-year study period (79% were male). The age- and sex-adjusted incidence rate was 15.5 per million population (18.8 for males, 4.9 for females). Two incidence peaks were suggested in the 20-29 and 60-69 age groups. Traffic accidents and falls were the main causes of injury. The highest peak occurs in young adults mainly caused by traffic accidents. The majority of the lesions were at cervical or thoracic level and ASIA grade A was most frequently observed. The proportion of SCI cases in persons older than 60 years, mostly due to falls, is increasing. The age-adjusted incidence rates found for the region of Aragón in Spain fall within the range of other published European estimates. Comparative epidemiological features for 2001-2008 suggest that there is room for prevention. Key words: trauma, spinal cord injury, incidence, Spain.

Language: en