Spinal Cord Injury Caused by Interpersonal Violence: Epidemiologic Data from the National Spinal Cord Injury Database

It has been asserted that interpersonal violence is the cause of increasing numbers of spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Data from the National Spinal Cord Injury Database (NSCID) maintained by the SCI Model Systems were examined to analyze the frequency and correlates of SCI caused by violence. Of 23,534 cases entered into the NSCID since 1973, 4,445 (18.9%) were injured as a result of violence (ie, gunshots, other penetrating injury, assaults). Compared with those injured as a result of other causes (ie, motor vehicle accident, sports, fall, being hit by falling objects, other), those injured as a result of violence are more frequently male, young, and of a minority background. They also are more likely to be unemployed, have a limited education, and be single at onset of injury. The percentage of SCIs resulting from violence increased from 13.8% of the total in 1973-1977 to 23.8% in 1993-1997. The increase was limited to Hispanics and blacks, males, homemakers and the unemployed, and persons between the ages of 10 and 29. Logistic regression analysis suggests that taking into account turnover of model systems and the sex-age-race/ethnic group distribution of the population, violence as a cause of injury increased in frequency until about 1987, but has seen a moderate decline since then.