Quality of life among men with spinal cord injury in Lebanon: A case control study

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a permanent disability which negatively affects individuals' health and particularly their quality of life.

To assess the quality of life (QoL) among Lebanese men with spinal cord injury and to compare it to a healthy control group.

A case control study was conducted. Fifty-one Lebanese patients with spinal cord injury and 51 age- sex-matched healthy persons were included in the study.

Compared to healthy controls, the mean scores of eight domains of SF-36 were significantly lower in SCI group: physical functioning (PF) (26.5 vs 87; p value <0.0001), role limitations due to physical (RP) (57.8 vs 93.6; p value <0.0001), bodily pain (BP) (60.5 vs 90.7; p value, 0.0001), general health (GH) (49.5 vs 76.6; p value <0.0001), vitality (VT) (51.2 vs 71.3; p value <0.0001), social functioning (SF) (68.9 vs 91.2; p value <0.0001), role limitations due to emotional problems (RE) (71.2 vs 91.5; p value 0.003) and mental health (MH) (62.9 vs 79; p value <0.0001). Concerning PCS and MCS scores, SCI patients reported significantly lower scores than control group (p value <0.0001).

Participants with SCI reported reduced QoL in comparison with normal individuals.