Table 1. Sociodemographic and Clinical Patient Characteristicsa.
| Characteristic | Patients, No. (%) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unexposed to PUs (n=696)b | Exposed to PUs (n=586)c | ||
| Age, mean (SD), y | 38.9 (15.7) | 36.9 (15.6) | .02 |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 536 (77.0) | 492 (84.0) | .002 |
| Female | 160 (23.0) | 94 (16.0) | |
| Race | |||
| African American | 182 (27.0) | 167 (29.1) | .01 |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 18 (2.7) | 8 (1.4) | |
| White | 444 (65.3) | 390 (67.9) | |
| Otherd | 31 (4.6) | 9 (1.6) | |
| Hispanic origin | |||
| Hispanic | 84 (12.2) | 50 (8.6) | .04 |
| Non-Hispanic | 607 (87.8) | 532 (91.4) | |
| Language | |||
| Primary language English | 502 (93.3) | 418 (94.4) | .34 |
| Speaks/understands English | 14 (2.6) | 14 (3.2) | |
| Does not speak/understand English | 22 (4.1) | 11 (2.5) | |
| Education | |||
| No high school | 176 (29.7) | 132 (26.8) | .58 |
| High school | 357 (60.2) | 309 (62.8) | |
| College/university | 60 (10.1) | 51 (10.4) | |
| Occupational status | |||
| Working/studying | 438 (70.1) | 362 (71.8) | .52 |
| Unemployed/retired | 187 (29.9) | 142 (28.2) | |
| Marital status | |||
| Married | 250 (38.2) | 178 (33.8) | .12 |
| Unmarried | 405 (61.8) | 348 (66.2) | |
| Traumatic cause | |||
| Traffic | 316 (45.5) | 315 (53.8) | .002 |
| Falls | 166 (23.9) | 128 (21.8) | |
| Violence | 85 (12.2) | 64 (10.9) | |
| Sports | 93 (13.4) | 70 (11.9) | |
| Other | 35 (5.0) | 9 (1.5) | |
| AIS | |||
| AIS A | 315 (45.3) | 389 (66.4) | <.001 |
| AIS B | 149 (21.4) | 112 (19.1) | |
| AIS C | 232 (33.3) | 85 (14.5) | |
| NLI | |||
| C1-C4 | 336 (49.2) | 318 (54.9) | .04 |
| C5-C8 | 347 (50.8) | 261 (45.1) | |
| ASIA motor score points, median (IQR) | 19.5 (6.0-38.0) | 11.0 (4.0-23.0) | <.001 |
| UEMS score points, median (IQR) | 14.0 (5.3-25.0) | 10.0 (2.5-20.0) | <.001 |
| LEMS score points, median (IQR) | 0.0 (0.0-11.0) | 0.0 (0.0-0.0) | <.001 |
| FIM motor score points, median (IQR) | 14.0 (13.0-21.0) | 13.0 (13.0-15.0) | <.001 |
| FIM self-care subscore points, median (IQR) | 6.0 (6.0-12.0) | 6.0 (6.0-7.0) | <.001 |
| FIM sphincter control subscore points, median (IQR) | 2.0 (2.0-2.0) | 2.0 (2.0-2.0) | .01 |
| FIM transfer subscore points, median (IQR) | 3.0 (3.0-3.0) | 3.0 (3.0-3.0) | <.001 |
| FIM mobility subscore points, median (IQR) | 2.0 (2.0-2.0) | 2.0 (2.0-2.0) | <.001 |
Abbreviations: ASIA, American Spinal Injury Association; AIS, ASIA impairment scale; FIM, Functional Independence Measure; LEMS, lower extremity motor score; NLI, neurological level of injury; PU, pressure ulcer; UEMS, upper extremity motor score.
Sociodemographic characteristics at the time of spinal cord injury and the neurological baseline comparing unexposed with exposed patients. The t test was used for age and the Mann-Whitney test for ASIA motor score, UEMS, LEMS, FIM motor score, and FIM subscores; the χ2 test was used for categorical variables.
Data were missing for the following variables and numbers of patients in the unexposed group: 21 missing race, 5 missing Hispanic origin, 158 missing language, 103 missing education, 71 missing occupational status, 41 missing marital status, 1 missing traumatic cause, 13 missing neurological level, 16 missing ASIA motor score, 12 missing UEMS, 6 missing LEMS, 69 missing FIM motor score, 65 missing FIM self-care subscore, 65 missing FIM sphincter control subscore, 66 missing FIM transfer subscore, and 67 missing FIM mobility subscore.
Data were missing for the following variables and numbers of patients in the exposed group: 12 missing race, 4 missing Hispanic origin, 143 missing language, 94 missing education, 82 missing occupational status, 60 missing marital status, 7 missing neurological level, 12 missing ASIA motor score, 9 missing UEMS, 6 missing LEMS, 20 missing FIM motor score, 19 missing FIM self-care subscore, 19 missing FIM sphincter control subscore, and 17 missing FIM transfer subscore, 17 missing FIM mobility subscore.
Includes respondents who selected Native American, Eskimo, or Aleut and other/unclassified.