People with Spinal Cord Injury in Spain.

EPIDEMIOLOGY OF SPINAL CORD INJURY IN SPAIN The incidence of traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) has increased from 8 cases per million population (1984–1985) to 23.5 cases per million population (2000–2009) in Spain. Currently, it is estimated that 38,000 persons livewith SCI in Spain. According to data from the Spanish Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad, 2014), hospital mortality rate from first admission is 1.4%. Mortality rate after hospital discharge is not available. Among traumatic SCI, 39% are due to road accidents, 55% are a result of falls during sporting or leisure activities, 1% are caused by violence, and 5% result from other miscellaneous reasons mainly attributed to accidents at the workplace. Traffic accidents are represented as follows: 40%, car; 40%, motorbike accidents; and 20%, pedestrian-related incidents. Other important data on SCI epidemiology are missing. Currently, a National Register System on epidemiological data does not exist, although it is expected that one will be operative in the future. Over the last decades, the assistance to road traffic accidents and the acute care of SCI have improved notably in Spain. Moreover, after a specific report of the situation in 2005, the Ministry of Health implemented a national protocol in 2010. That is why a lesser number of complete injuries and a longer life expectancy have been observed. Similar to other countries, there is also a progressive increase in the mean age of patients with SCI. This is most likely caused by a shift from traumatic to nontraumatic cases. Moreover, improvement in acute and subacute care implies that people with SCI are living longer.