Citation

Krause JS, Saunders LL, Devivo MJ. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 2011; 92(3): 339-345.

Affiliation

College of Health Professions, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.apmr.2010.09.032

PMID

21353818

PMCID

PMC3181072

Abstract

UNLABELLED: Krause JS, Saunders LL, DeVivo MJ. Income and risk of mortality after spinal cord injury. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of household income and formal education with risk of mortality after spinal cord injury (SCI). DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: Twenty hospitals designated as Model SCI Systems of care in the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Adults (N=8027) with traumatic SCI, seen in one of the Model SCI Systems, who had at least 1 follow-up assessment between 1995 and 2006. All participants were at least 1 year postinjury at the time of assessment. There were 57,957 person-years and 1036 deaths. The follow-up period started with the first assessment between 1995 and 2006 and went until either the date of death or March 2009. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mortality status was determined by routine follow-up supplemented by using the Social Security Death Index. A logistic regression model was developed to estimate the chance of dying in any given year. RESULTS: Educational status and income were significantly predictive of mortality after adjusting for age, sex, race, and severity of injury. Compared with those with household income of $75,000 or greater, the odds of mortality was greater for those who had income between $25,000 and $75,000 (1.61) and still higher for those with less than $25,000 a year (2.41). Life expectancy differed more as a function of household income than the economic subscale of the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique. CONCLUSION: There was a clear gradation in survival based on familial income (high, middle, low), not just an effect of the lowest income.

Language: en