SCI Facts And Figures

Think you know the facts about spinal cord injuries?  Here is some information that may surprise you.

Who Do Spinal Cord Injuries Affect in the United States? 

• 250,000 Americans are spinal cord injured.
• 52% of spinal cord injured individuals are considered paraplegic and 47% quadriplegic.
• Approximately 11,000 new injuries occur each year.
• 82% are male.
• 56% of injuries occur between the ages of 16 and 30.
• The average age of spinal cord injured person is 31.

SCI injuries are most commonly caused by:

• Vehicular accidents 37%
• Violence 28%
• Falls 21%
• Sports-related 6%
• Other 8%
• The most rapidly increasing cause of injuries is due to violence; vehicular accident injuries are decreasing in number.
• 89% of all SCI individuals are discharged from hospitals to a private home, 4.3% are discharged to nursing homes.
• Only 52% of SCI individuals are covered by private health insurance at time of injury.

What Do Spinal Cord Injuries Really Cost?

• Length of initial hospitalization following injury in acute care units: 15 days
• Average stay in rehabilitation unit: 44 days
• Initial hospitalization costs following injury: $140,000
• Average first year expenses for a SCI injury (all groups): $198,000
• First year expenses for paraplegics: $152,000
• First year expenses for quadriplegics: $417,000
• Average lifetime costs for paraplegics, age of injury 25: $428,000
• Average lifetime costs for quadriplegics, age of injury 25: $1.35 million
• Percentage of SCI individuals who are covered by private health insurance at time of injury 52% - Compare health insurance at privatemedicalhealthinsurance.org.uk
• Percentage of SCI individuals unemployed eight years after injury 63%. (Note: unemployment rate when this article was written was 4.7%)

Source: The University of Alabama National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center - March 2002
 

Reference: http://www.sci-info-pages.com/