Domain-specific quality of life assesment in spinal cord injured patients

The objective of the study was to describe the domain-specific quality of life in persons with spinal cord injury, and to evaluate the influences of injury level, time since injury, age at time of injury, marital status and education level on quality of life subscales. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was used. Thirty persons with spinal cord injury and 32 age-sex-matched healthy controls were included in the study. The SF-36 Health Survey was administered by telephone to patients. Correlations between the SF-36 subscale scores and time since injury; motor, sensory and radiologic injury levels were evaluated and comparison of scores from different sex, marital status and education level were performed. Quality of life scores were significantly lower in patients with spinal cord injury than in the control group in all subscales. A positive correlation between time since injury, neurologic level and physical functioning score; and between bodily pain subscale and all the remaining subscales was apparent. The spinal cord injury affects quality of life, mainly impairing its physical functioning domain. The most important determinant seems to be motor level of injury and bodily pain. Those who fall in the latter group can be modified by rehabilitation and medical treatment.