Health-related quality of life in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury in Estonia.

OBJECTIVES

To describe health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) and to assess factors that affect HRQoL.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

METHODS

Eighty Estonian-speaking TSCI patients from the Estonian TSCI database were included in the study. The RAND-36 questionnaire, the Life Orientation Test, the Emotional State Questionnaire and the Brief Social Support Questionnaire were used.

RESULTS

There were 66 men and 14 women; the mean age was 38.9±14.8 years. The mean time that had elapsed since injury was 4.2 years. According to the RAND-36 scales, the lowest scores were given for physical health-related domains, followed by the energy/fatigue and the general health domains. The regression analysis adjusted to age and gender revealed that age, employment and category of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale during the acute phase of injury were significant factors in predicting physical functioning (P<0.001). Age, depression and general anxiety were significant predictors of emotional well-being (P<0.001). Age and depression were independently associated with general health (P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

As expected, physical functioning and physical role limitation were the most pronounced deficits in HRQoL. Compared with data from other countries, all scores for the RAND-36 scales are lower in Estonian TSCI patients. The HRQoL following TSCI is affected by severity of injury, depression, age and employment status.