Depression in spinal cord injured patients

Many regard depression as an inevitable psychological sequela of spinal cord injury. This assumption, if inaccurate, may confound the rehabilitation process. We evaluated 22 patients with recent spinal cord injuries (less than 6 months), using a standardised interview and diagnostic process. Five patients (22 per cent) had diagnosable depressions after their injury. This is higher than the incidence of depression in the general population, but less than anticipated.