Spinal Cord Injury in Utah

Nationally, as many as 11,000 Americans sustain a spinal cord injury (SCI) each year. These injuries devastate the victims, their families and friends, and take a $10 billion toll on society through health care costs and lost productivity. In Utah, someone suffers a spinal cord injury every 6 days.

The Utah Department of Health, through a collaborative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, collects SCI information for the state of Utah through review of hospital discharge data. A full medical record review is conducted to collect appropriate information on each case.

From 1998–2003, Utah residents sustained 387 incidents of SCI that were severe enough to result in acute care hospitalization and/or death. Males sustained nearly three times as many SCIs as females, while females had a higher rate of intentional SCIs than males. Among adolescents and young adults, motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of SCI. Falls are the leading cause of SCI among seniors.

For a closer look at spinal cord injury and its impact in Utah, please see SCI in Utah, 1998-2003.

For national SCI information and resources, visit the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke Web site.