Table 6.
Incidence and causation of spinal cord injury in countries
| Annual incidence (per million) | Male:female ratio | Peak age | Causation | Level of injury | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States of America (1970–1977)38 | 40.1 | 2.25:1 | Overall: 15–24 (68.0/million) | Not specified | Not specified |
| Denmark (1975–1984)39 | 9.2 | 3.3:1 | Overall: 15–24 (40%) | Traffic: 47% Falls: 26% Sports: 12% Suicide: 8% Struck by object: 3% Crushing accident: 2% Violence: 2% Other: 1% |
Cervical: 51% Thoracic: 28% Lumbar: 21% |
| Estonia (1997–2001)30 | 35.4 | 6:1 | Males: 50–59 (∼32/million) Females: 30–39 (∼15/million) |
Falls: 36.5% Traffic: 30.3% Sports: 13.9% Other: 19.3% |
Cervical: 60.5% Thoracic: 18.9% Lumbar: 20.6% |
| Estonia (1997–2007)40 | 39.7 | 5.5:1 | Males: 20–29 (133.9/million) Females: 30–39 (18.3/million) |
Falls: 41.0% Traffic: 29.4% |
Cervical: 59.4% Thoracic: 18.3% Lumbar/sacral: 22.3% |
| Finland (1976–2005)41 | 13.8 | 4.5–5.1:1 | Males: 16–34 Females: 16–34 |
Falls: 41.2% Traffic: 39.5% Diving: 6.6% Violence: 2.7% Other: 10.0% |
Not specified |
| France (2000)42 | 19.4 | Not specified | Not specified | Not specified | Not specified |
| Greenland (1965–1986)43 | 26 | 2.86:1 | Not specified | Falls: 33.3% Suicide: 26% Accidental shot: 15% Violence: 11% Struck by object: 7.4% Sports: 3.7% Traffic: 3.7% |
Not specified |
| Iceland (1975–2009)11 | 22.6 | 2.6:1 | Overall: ≤30 (43%) | Traffic: 42.5% Falls: 30.9% Sports: 19% Other: 8% |
Cervical: 57% Thoracic/lumbar: 43% |
| Ireland (2000)44 | 13.1 | 6.7:1 | Overall: 20–29 | Traffic: 50% Falls: 35% Sports: 9% Suicide: 2% Work-related: 2% Iatrogenic: 2% |
Cervical: 50% Thoracic: 41% Lumbar: 9% |
| The Netherlands (1994)45 | 12.1 | 3.3:1 | Overall: 21–30 (24.8%) | Falls: 48.7% Traffic: 31.0% Sports: 8.9% Occupational: 4.4% Other: 3.5% Unknown: 3.5% |
Not specified |
| Norway (1974–1975)46 | 16.5 | 4.9:1 | Overall: 20–40 (39%) | Not specified | Cervical: 53% Thoracic: 26% Lumbar: 12% Conus/cauda equina: 9% |
| Romania (1975–1993)47 | 28.5 | 3.35:1 | Overall: 51–60 (21.4%) | Falls: 59% Traffic: 16% Falling weight: 10% Sports: 7% Other: 8% |
Cervical: 57.2% Thoracic: 29.3% Lumbar: 13.0% Sacral: 0.4% |
| Spain (1984–1985)56 | 8.0 | Not specified for traumatic cases alone | Not specified for traumatic cases alone | Traffic: 52% Falls: 27.5% Stroke: 6% Surgical: 4% Sports: 3% Projectile: 3% Others: 4.5% |
Not specified for traumatic cases alone |
| Spain (2000–2009)48 | 23.5 | Not specified | Not specified | Traffic: 35.5% | Not specified |
| Switzerland (1960–1967)49 | ∼15 | ∼5:1 | Overall: 20–29 (29%) | Traffic: 36% Work: 35% Suicide: 9.67% Sports: 9.67% Other: 9.67% |
Not specified |
| Turkey (1992)50 | 12.7 | 2.5:1 | Overall: 20–29 (23/million) | Traffic: 48.8% Falls: 36.5% Violence: 5.2% Sports: 1.2% |
Cervical: 31.7% Thoracic: 26.6% Lumbar: 28.1% |
| Jordan (1988–1993)51 | 18 | 5.8:1 | Overall: 21–30 (35.8%) | Traffic: 44.4% Violence: 27.8% Falls: 21.2% Struck by object: 3.3% Sports: 2.6% Suicide: 0.7% |
Cervical: 31.8% Thoracic/lumbar: 68.2% |
| Japan (1990)52 | 39.4 | 4.3:1 | Overall: 50–59 (21.2%) | Traffic: 44.6% Falls: 41% Struck by object: 6.0% Sports: 5.3% Suicide: 1.7% Other: 1.4% |
Cervical: 74.3% Thoracic or below: 25.5% Unknown: 0.2% |
| Australia (1998–1999)53 | 14.5 | 3.2:1 | Males: 15–24 (∼38/million) Females: 15–24 (∼16/million) |
Traffic: 43% Falls: 31% Sports: 5% |
Cervical: 57.7% Thoracic: 24.9% Lumbar: 16.6% Sacral: 0.75% |
| New Zealand (1979–1988)54 | 49.1 | Not specified | Overall: 15–29 (104/million in 1988); 96.7/million in 1979–1988 | Traffic: 54% Falls: 24% Sports: 11% Machinery: 3% Exertion: 3% Struck by object: 2% Violence: 2% Other: 2% |
Cervical: 52.3% Thoracic: 25.2% Lumbar: 21.8% Sacral: 0.66% |
| Fiji (1985–1994)55 | 10.0 | 6.7:1 | Males: 16–30 Females: 16–30 |
Falls: 38.7% Sports: 32% Traffic: 25.3% Other: 4% |
Not specified for traumatic cases alone |