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Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Jul 8;22(1):285.
doi: 10.1186/s12916-024-03514-9.

Global incidence and characteristics of spinal cord injury since 2000-2021: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Yubao Lu #  1   2   3 , Zhizhong Shang #  1   2   3   4 , Wei Zhang #  1   2   3 , Mao Pang #  1   2   3 , Xuchang Hu  5 , Yu Dai  1 , Ruoqi Shen  1   2   3 , Yingjie Wu  1   2   3 , Chenrui Liu  1   2   3 , Ting Luo  1   2   3 , Xin Wang  6 , Bin Liu  7   8   9 , Liangming Zhang  10   11   12 , Limin Rong  13   14   15
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Global incidence and characteristics of spinal cord injury since 2000-2021: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Yubao Lu et al. BMC Med. .

Abstract

Background: This study employs systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the incidence and characteristics of spinal cord injury (SCI) between 2000 and 2021, aiming to provide the most recent and comprehensive data support for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care of SCI.

Methods: Systematic searches were conducted on epidemiological studies of SCI published between January 1, 2000, and March 29, 2024. Meta-analysis, subgroup analysis, meta-regression, publication bias detection, and literature quality assessment were extensively utilized.

Results: The pooled results from 229 studies indicated that the overall incidence rate of SCI was 23.77 (95% CI, 21.50-26.15) per million people, with traumatic spinal cord injuries (TSCI) at a rate of 26.48 (95% CI, 24.15-28.93) per million people, and non-traumatic spinal cord injuries (NTSCI) at a rate of 17.93 (95% CI, 13.30-23.26) per million people. The incidence of TSCI exhibited a marked age-related increase and was significantly higher in community settings compared to hospital and database sources. Males experienced TSCI at a rate 3.2 times higher than females. Between 2000 and 2021, the incidence of TSCI remained consistently high, between 20 and 45 per million people, whereas NTSCI incidence has seen a steady rise since 2007, stabilizing at a high rate of 25-35 per million people. Additionally, the incidence of TSCI in developing countries was notably higher than that in developed countries. There were significant differences in the causes of injury, severity, injury segments, gender, and age distribution among the TSCI and NTSCI populations, but the proportion of male patients was much higher than that of female patients. Moreover, study quality, country type, and SCI type contributed to the heterogeneity in the meta-analysis.

Conclusions: The incidence rates of different types of SCI remain high, and the demographic distribution of SCI patients is changing, indicating a serious disease burden on healthcare systems and affected populations. These findings underscore the necessity of adopting targeted preventive, therapeutic, and rehabilitative measures based on the incidence and characteristics of SCI.

Keywords: Features; Incidence; Meta-analysis; Spinal cord injury; Systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of literature screening process
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Basic information of included studies (category name, number of studies, proportion. A Type of study. B Number of publications by country. C Source of data. D Sample size of the studies included)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The quality of evidence in included studies (higher scores indicate higher quality of evidence in the studies)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Incidence of spinal cord injury (A Injury type. B Data source. C Gender. D Age)
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Annual incidence rates of spinal cord injury (the dots represent effect sizes, with the upper and lower edges corresponding to the upper and lower limits of the 95% CI)
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Incidence of spinal cord injury by country (darker colors indicate higher incidence rates)
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Distribution of population characteristics in spinal cord injury (A TSCI. B NTSCI)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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