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Uab & Spinal Cord Injury Facts

The University of Alabama-Birmingham became a Spinal Cord Injury Model System (SCIMS) Center in 1973. Currently there are 14 SCIMS Centers in the United States. They are funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and are considered the top care providers for people with spinal cord injuries. The University of Alabama-Birmingham is also the official National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC). As the NSCIS, the university researches and reports facts and statistics from about 13% of all spinal cord injuries in the National Spinal Cord Injury Database (NSCID).

  1. Age at Time of Spinal Cord Injury

    • Spinal cord injuries usually occur in young adults between the ages of 16 and 30. The average age at the time of spinal cord injury was 28.7 in the period from 1973 to 1979. In recent years, this age has increased due to the general population's age increasing. Currently 40.2 is the average age at the time of spinal cord injury.

    Gender

    • Between 1973 and 1980, male spinal cord injuries made up 81.8% of the spinal cord injuries reported to the NSCID. Since then, the percentage of spinal cord injuries in males has been decreasing, leading to an overall 80.8% since the time the NSCID began being issued in 1973.

    Racial Background

    • Because the majority of Americans are Caucasian, the majority of spinal cord injuries occur in Caucasian Americans. Between 1973 and 1979, Caucasian spinal cord injuries made up approximately 76.8% of the total injuries reported in the NSCID. The remaining 23.2% of spinal cord injuries occured in African-Americans (14.2), Asians (0.9), Hispanics (5.9), and persons with unknown race (2.2). Since then, the percentage of Caucasian spinal cord injuries has decreased to 66.2%, while spinal cord injuries in other races have increased.

    Etiology

    • The most common cause of spinal cord injuries is car accidents. Since 2005, 41.3% of all spinal cord injuries have occurred this way. The majority of the remaining spinal cord injuries are caused by falls (27.3 percent), followed by violence (15.0), and recreation sports (7.9). Unknown causes account for 8.5% of spinal cause injuries. Since 1979, the percent of violence induced spinal cord injuries peaked in the 90s, causing 24.8% of spinal cord injuries reported by the NSCID.

    Death in Persons with Spinal Cord Injuries

    • The remaining life expectancy for people with spinal cord injuries varies depending on severity of the injury and how long the injury is sustained. As new medical technology is developed, this remaining life expectancy increases. Younger people who have survived their injuries for at least a year have the highest life expectancy. The most common causes of death for people with spinal cord injuries are pneumonia, renal failure, and pulmonary embolism.

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