Risk for onset of health conditions among community-living adults with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries

Abstract

This research describes the onset of 13 health conditions and death among 38 adults with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) and 149 adults with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) compared to adults without disabilities in the same primary care setting, using a retrospective cohort design. The subjects were accrued from an urban and a rural practice, both affiliated with a university family medicine department. Survival analyses, using Cox proportional hazard models, were used to model the onset of each of the health conditions. The results indicated adults with SCI had an increased risk for onset of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and depression. Individuals with TBIs had an increased risk for onset of anxiety, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, depression, and seizures. Neither group had increased risk for asthma, cancer, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, or transient ischaemic attack. The only conditions with increased risk were those previously identified as secondary to traumatic injury. The other conditions including death did not have higher incidence among the study group, during 7–9 years of retrospective follow-up.