Quality of Life Among Veterans With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury and Related Variables

BACKGROUND: In recent decades, the incidence of spinal cord injuries has increased. In a systemic review on epidemiology of traumatic spinal cord injury in developing countries reported 25.5/million cases per year. OBJECTIVES: To assess the quality of life (QOL) of the veterans among Iran-Iraq war with chronic spinal cord injuries (SCI) and to evaluate long-term impressions of SCI on their quality of life. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty-two veterans, all male, with chronic spinal cord injury from Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) were interviewed and examined. The mean age of veterans at the time of interview was 49.3 years (38 to 80 years). Veterans were assessed by using a 36-item short-form (SF-36), hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) and the Barthel index. The presence or absence of pressure sores and spasticity were documented as well. RESULTS: The mean age of veterans at the time of study was 49.3 years. Pearson's correlation test showed that depression and anxiety have a reverse association with mental component summary (MCS) scale and physical component summary (PCS) scale scores, respectively. Regression analysis showed a negative effect of depression and pressure sore on PCS. Moreover, no association was found between the duration of injury and age with quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Lower QOL was found among veterans with chronic SCI. More researches on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are needed to give us a better understanding of changes in life of patients with SCI and the ways to improve them.