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. 2017 Sep;40(5):548-559.
doi: 10.1080/10790268.2016.1213554. Epub 2016 Aug 31.

Impact of bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction on health status of people with thoracolumbar spinal cord injuries living in the community

So Eyun Park  1 , Stacy Elliott  2   3   4   5   6 , Vanessa K Noonan  1   7 , Nancy P Thorogood  1 , Nader Fallah  1   8 , Allan Aludino  7   9 , Marcel F Dvorak  7   9
Affiliations

Impact of bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction on health status of people with thoracolumbar spinal cord injuries living in the community

So Eyun Park et al. J Spinal Cord Med. 2017 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: The disruption of autonomic function following a spinal cord injury (SCI) is common and can negatively affect quality of life. The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of bladder/bowel incontinence and sexual dysfunction in community-dwelling individuals with a thoracolumbar SCI and examine the impact on general physical and mental health status.

Methods: Participants who sustained a traumatic SCI to the thoracolumbar region of the spinal cord and classified as American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) A to D were recruited. Demographic, injury data, MRI classification and neurological data were collected on admission. At follow-up, the neurological data, a questionnaire collecting participant-reported secondary health conditions (SHCs) (e.g. bladder incontinence, depression etc.) following SCI and health status measured by Short Form-36 were obtained. Regression models determined the association of health status with demographic/injury-related data, types and number of SHCs.

Results: Of the 51 participants, 58.8% reported bladder incontinence, 54.0% bowel incontinence, 60.8% sexual dysfunction and 29.4% had all three. The regression models demonstrated that age at injury, bowel incontinence, sexual dysfunction, presence of pain, motor score at follow-up and the number of SHCs were significant predictors of health status. The number of SHCs was more predictive than all other demographic and injury variables for health status.

Conclusion: Results highlight the high prevalence of self-reported bowel/bladder incontinence and sexual dysfunction in the traumatic thoracolumbar SCI population and support the need for standardized assessments. Several demographic, injury-related and SHCs impacted health status and should be considered for the management of individuals living in the community.

Keywords: Fecal incontinence; Quality of Life; Sexual dysfunction; Spinal cord injuries; Urinary incontinence.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptual model exploring the effect of secondary health conditions on the health status of individuals with traumatic spinal cord injuries.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportion of the participants reporting bladder incontinence, bowel incontinence and sexual dysfunction and the associated overlap.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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