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- Title
Mortality due to traumatic spinal cord injuries in Europe: a cross-sectional and pooled analysis of population-wide data from 22 countries.
- Authors
Majdan, Marek; Plancikova, Dominika; Nemcovska, Eva; Krajcovicova, Lenka; Brazinova, Alexandra; Rusnak, Martin
- Abstract
Background: Traumatic spinal cord injuries (TSCI) pose a significant burden globally, while existing epidemiological data – especially on population mortality – are limited. The aim of this study was to calculate the age-standardized population mortality rates attributable to TSCI in 22 European countries, along with the pooled age-standardized mortality rate attributable to TSCI in Europe. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional epidemiological study w as conducted. Crude and age-standardized mortality rates attributable to TSCI for the year 2012 for 22 European co untries were compared using data from death certificates provided by Eurostat. Pooled age-standardized mortality rates were calculated using th erandomeffectsmodel,and overall number of cases were estimated by extrapolating our findings to the populations of EU and Europe (48 countries), in 2012. Results: A total of 1840 TSCI-related deaths were identifie d, of which 1084 (59%) were males. The pooled age- standardized TSCI-related mortality rate of 6.7 per millio n (95% CI: 5.2 to 8.2) overall, 9.4 (95% CI: 7.3 to 11.5) for males, and 4.5 (95% CI: 3.4 to 5.6) for females. Extrapo lating our results, 3152 (95% CI: 2441 to 3915) deaths would occur in 2012 in the EU-28 and 4570 (95% CI: 3538 to 5675) de aths in the whole Europe. TSCI-related deaths contributed by 2% (95% CI: 1.8% to 2.2%) to the overall inju ry related mortality. 61% of fatal TSCI were located in the cervical spine area. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the largest study that reports TSCI-related population-based mortalities to date which brings valuable information that can inform further research or prevention strategies. Our study presents a comprehensive and large-scale overview of TSCI-related population mortality in Europe. With an estimated toll of nearly five thousand lives that could be potentially saved by prevention, our findings confirm TSCI as an important cause of injury related deaths in E urope. Further action towards harmonization of case ascertainment and towards prevention strategie s targeted mainly on the elderly is warranted.
- Publication
Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation & Emergency Medicine, 2017, Vol 25, p1
- ISSN
1757-7241
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1186/s13049-017-0410-0