Table I.
Descriptive characteristics of participants (n = 339) and non-participants (n = 312)
| Characteristics | participants | Non-Participants |
|---|---|---|
| Demographic variables | ||
| Mean age at baseline, years, mean (SD) | 53.2 (16.1)a | 46.9 (18.6)a |
| Age groups at baseline, n (%) | a | a |
| 16–29 years | 40 (12) | 74 (24) |
| 30–59 years | 156 (46) | 143 (46) |
| 60 years | 143 (42) | 95 (30) |
| Sex, n (%) | ||
| Male | 243 (72) | 225 (72) |
| Female | 96 (28) | 87 (28) |
| SCI Characteristics | ||
| Cause of injury, n (%) | ||
| Traumatic | 203 (60) | 206 (66) |
| Non- traumatic | 136 (40) | 106 (34) |
| Impairment groups (Level and AIS), n (%) | ||
| Tetraplegia, AIS A-C | 34 (10) | 46 (15) |
| Tetraplegia, AIS D-E | 102 (30) | 81 (26) |
| Paraplegia, AIS A-C | 76 (22) | 63 (20) |
| Paraplegia, AIS D-E | 123 (36) | 110 (35) |
| Unknown or not applicable | 4 (1) | 12 (4) |
| Mean time since discharge, mean (SD) | 4.4 (1.9) | 4.4 (2.0) |
| SCI-QoL BDS at baseline (range 0–10) (from NorSCIR)b | ||
| Mean satisfaction with general quality of life, (SD) | 6.7 (2.3) | 6.3 (2.4) |
| Mean satisfaction with physical health, (SD) | 6.1 (2.4) | 5.7 (2.5) |
| Mean satisfaction with psychological health, (SD) | 7.1 (2.4) | 6.6 (2.7) |
a
p-value < 0.05 from t-tests for continuous and χ2 for categorical.
b
n = 213 participants and n = 173 non-participants.
SCI: spinal cord injury; AIS: American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale; QoL: quality of life; BDS: basic data set; NorSCIR: Norwegian SCI Registry.