Morbidity rates of complications in persons with spinal cord injury according to the site of injury and with special reference to hypertension

Abstract

It has been reported that since 1982 the incidence in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) of hypertension is commoner than it is in the general population of the same age groups in Japan. In the current study, we examined outpatient morbidity rates and standardised outpatient morbidity ratios (SOMR) according to the site of injury, as well as blood pressure levels and history of disease, and compared the incidences with those for the general population. The subjects consisted of 195 men with SCI. All were engaged in light work at special centres while living with other persons at the centres. The mean age was 49.5 years old, and the average post-injury period was 17.9 years. With respect to the site of injury, 19 patients had had injuries at the level of C-T5, 24 at T6-T10, 139 at T11-L1, and 13 at L2 or lower. The SOMR (general population = 100) for hypertension was closely related to the site of injury, i.e. 0 at C-T5, 250 at T6-T10, 221 at T11-L1 and 308 at L2 or below. Among the patients treated with antihypertensive agents (41 persons), 17.1% were under treatment for renal diseases, 4.9% for diabetes, and 4.9% for hepatic disorders. In 68% of the SCI persons examined, however no disease (such as renal disease, diabetes mellitus, hepatic disease or endocrine abnormality) could be regarded as a cause of secondary hypertension. In addition, the survey revealed that the body weight of SCI persons was lower than that of the general populations.