Chen H Y, Chen S S, Chiu W T, Lee L S, Hung C I, Hung C L, Wang Y C, Hung C C, Lin L S, Shih Y H, Kuo C Y
Head and Spinal Cord Injury Research Group, Neurological Society, Taipei, Taiwan/ROC.
Neuroepidemiology. 1997;16(5):241-7. doi: 10.1159/000109693.
This prospective epidemiological survey of spinal cord injury (SCI) in Taiwan was carried out among patients attended by physicians from various medical centers and general hospitals all over Taiwan from July 1992 to June 1996. In all, 1,586 new cases of SCI were registered, representing about 70% of all possible SCI cases in Taiwan. The observed average annual incidence of SCI in Taiwan was 18.8 per million people, whereas it was 47.5 for the geriatric section. The mean age was 46.1 years with a plateau distribution after 20 years and older. Geriatric victims (297 cases, 18.7%, group II) formed a major section of SCI cases in Taiwan. Another group of younger SCI patients (15-64 years old, 1,232 cases, group I) was selected for comparison. The results showed that the male-to-female ratio, pattern of neurological deficits, and causes of injury and death of geriatric SCI patients differed significantly from those of the younger SCI group. Elderly women were exposed to a higher risk of SCI than younger women (M/F ratio 1.7:1). Falls were the leading cause of geriatric SCI, and two thirds of them occurred on level ground. Traffic accidents accounted for a third of SCI cases, half of which involved motorcycle accidents, a fifth of them pedestrians. Quadriplegia and quadriparesis occurred more frequently among elderly cases of SCI than in the younger group and a higher proportion of them died of SCI complications. Two thirds of elderly SCI patients recovered well enough after comprehensive treatment to be able to take care of themselves at home. The government should initiate programs of prevention to reduce the prevalence of geriatric SCI in Taiwan.
这项针对台湾脊髓损伤（SCI）的前瞻性流行病学调查，于1992年7月至1996年6月期间，在台湾各地各大医疗中心和综合医院的就诊患者中开展。总共登记了1586例新的脊髓损伤病例，约占台湾所有可能的脊髓损伤病例的70%。台湾地区观察到的脊髓损伤平均年发病率为每百万人18.8例，而老年组为47.5例。平均年龄为46.1岁，20岁及以上呈平稳分布。老年受害者（297例，占18.7%，第二组）构成了台湾脊髓损伤病例的主要部分。另一组较年轻的脊髓损伤患者（15 - 64岁，1232例，第一组）被选作比较。结果显示，老年脊髓损伤患者的男女比例、神经功能缺损模式以及损伤和死亡原因与较年轻的脊髓损伤组有显著差异。老年女性比年轻女性面临更高的脊髓损伤风险（男/女比例为1.7:1）。跌倒为老年脊髓损伤的主要原因，其中三分之二发生在平地上。交通事故占脊髓损伤病例的三分之一，其中一半涉及摩托车事故，五分之一涉及行人。四肢瘫痪和四肢轻瘫在老年脊髓损伤病例中比年轻组更常见，且他们中有更高比例死于脊髓损伤并发症。三分之二的老年脊髓损伤患者经过综合治疗后恢复良好，能够在家中自理。政府应启动预防计划，以降低台湾老年脊髓损伤的患病率。
