Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Epidemiologic changes in nontraumatic spinal cord injury for the last 30 years (1990–2019) in South Korea

Spinal Cord volume 60, pages 268–273 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Study design

Retrospective descriptive study.

Objectives

To summarize epidemiologic data on nontraumatic spinal cord injury (NTSCI) for the last 30 years and compare these findings to data from individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI).

Setting

National Rehabilitation Center affiliated with the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Korea.

Methods

The medical records of 948 individuals with NTSCIs were retrospectively reviewed. Three groups were created based on onset period (1990–1999, 2000–2009, 2010–2019) and six groups based on age (≤15, 16–30, 31–45, 46–60, 61–75, and ≥76 years). Pearson’s chi-square and analysis of variance tests were used for statistical analysis.

Results

The male-to-female ratio was 1.30:1 for NTSCI individuals and 3.47:1 for TSCI individuals. The mean age (standard deviation [SD]) at the time of injury increased from 38.7 (SD = 18.1) years in the 1990s to 55.5 (SD = 16.6) years in the 2010s (F = 44.597, p ≤ 0.001). Vertebral column degenerative disorder was the primary cause of injury in 28.9% of the cases, and the most common neurologic level was T12-L2. Paraplegia occurred in 74.6% of cases, and tetraplegia in 25.4% of cases. The proportion of NTSCI individuals increased from 11.2% to 29.3% during the observation period.

Conclusions

The proportion of NTSCI among total spinal cord injuries has increased in Korea over the last 30 years (1990–2019). Compared to individuals with TSCI, those with NTSCI had a higher age at onset, with different male-to-female ratios. Our study is the most comprehensive investigation of NTSCI in Korea, and our findings can inform research directions and medical guidelines.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy article

Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.

$32.00

Buy

All prices are NET prices.

Fig. 1: Trends in age distribution among NTSCI individuals.
Fig. 2: Trends in grouped etiology by year of injury.

Data availability

Although the data for this study are not publicly available, data will be made available to other researchers upon reasonable request.

References

  1. National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. Spinal cord injury facts and figures at a glance, 2021 SCI Data Sheet. 2021. https://www.nscisc.uab.edu/Public/Facts%20and%20Figures%20-%202021.pdf

  2. New PW, Sundararajan V. Incidence of non-traumatic spinal cord injury in Victoria, Australia: a population-based study and literature review. Spinal Cord. 2008;46:406–11.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Kurtzke JF. Epidemiology of spinal cord injury. Exp Neurol. 1975;48:163–236.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Murray P, Kusior M, editors. Epidemiology of nontraumatic and traumatic spinal-cord injury. In: Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Company; 1984.

  5. New PW. Non-traumatic spinal cord injury: what is the ideal setting for rehabilitation? Aust Health Rev. 2006;30:353–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Minaire P, Castanier M, Girard R, Berard E, Deidier C, Bourret J. Epidemiology of spinal cord injury in the Rhône-Alpes Region, France, 1970-75. Paraplegia. 1978;16:76–87.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Garcia-Reneses J, Herruzo-Cabrera R, Martinez-Moreno M. Epidemiological study of spinal cord injury in Spain 1984-1985. Spinal Cord. 1991;29:180–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Schönherr MC, Groothoff JW, Mulder GA, Eisma WH. Rehabilitation of individuals with spinal cord lesions in The Netherlands: an epidemiological study. Spinal Cord. 1996;34:679–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Biering-Sørensen E, Pedersen V, Clausen S. Epidemiology of spinal cord lesions in Denmark. Paraplegia. 1990;28:105–18.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Maharaj JC. Epidemiology of spinal cord paralysis in Fiji: 1985-1994. Spinal Cord. 1996;34:549–59.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Adams RD, Salam-Adams M. Chronic nontraumatic diseases of the spinal cord. Neurol Clin. 1991;9:605–23.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Dawson DM, Potts F. Acute nontraumatic myelopathies. Neurol Clin. 1991;9:585–603.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Yang J-Y, Shim D-M, Kim T-K, Moon E-S, Sohn H-M, Hong C-H, et al. Epidemiology of the spinal cord and cauda equina injury in Korea-Multicenter Study. J Korean Soc Spine Surg. 2011;18:83–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Shin JC, Kim DH, Yu SJ, Yang HE, Yoon SY. Epidemiologic change of individuals with spinal cord injury. Ann Rehabil Med. 2013;37:50–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Han ZA, Lee BS, Kim W, Lee SJ, Im HJ, Kim C, et al. People with spinal cord injury in Korea. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2017;96:S83–S85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. New PW, Marshall R. International spinal cord injury data sets for non-traumatic spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord. 2014;52:123–32.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Choi SH, Sung CH, Heo DR, Jeong SY, Kang CN. Incidence of acute spinal cord injury and associated complications of methylprednisolone therapy: a national population-based study in South Korea. Spinal Cord. 2020;58:232–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. New PW, Simmonds F, Stevermuer T. A population-based study comparing traumatic spinal cord injury and non-traumatic spinal cord injury using a national rehabilitation database. Spinal Cord. 2011;49:397–403.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Singh A, Tetreault L, Kalsi-Ryan S, Nouri A, Fehlings MG. Global prevalence and incidence of traumatic spinal cord injury. Clin Epidemiol. 2014;6:309–31.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Chen CF, Lien IN. Spinal cord injuries in Taipei, Taiwan, 1978-1981. Paraplegia. 1985;23:364–70.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Pajareya K. Traumatic spinal cord injuries in Thailand: an epidemiologic study in Siriraj Hospital, 1989-1994. Spinal Cord. 1996;34:608–10.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. New PW, Cripps RA, Bonne Lee B. Global maps of non-traumatic spinal cord injury epidemiology: towards a living data repository. Spinal Cord. 2014;52:97–109.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. New PW, Rawicki HB, Bailey MJ. Nontraumatic spinal cord injury: demographic characteristics and complications. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2002;83:996–1001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Statistics Korea. Population projections for Korea 2019. 2019. https://kosis.kr/eng/statisticsList/statisticsListIndex.do?menuId=M_01_01&vwcd=MT_ETITLE&parmTabId=M_01_01&statId=1962001&themaId=#SelectStatsBoxDiv

Download references

Author contributions

BSL was responsible for designing the review protocol, conducting the search, and screening potentially eligible studies. OYK and DHH were responsible for updating reference lists and creating tables and figures. All authors (BSL, OYK, and DHH) were responsible for writing the protocol and report, extracting and analyzing data, interpreting results, and approving the final version of the manuscript.

Funding

International spinal cord injury survey (InSCI) – comparative analysis between the countries of the Western Pacific Region (WPR) spinal cord injury database.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation Center, Seoul, Korea

    Bum-Suk Lee, Onyoo Kim & Daehoon Ham

Authors
  1. Bum-Suk Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Onyoo Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Daehoon Ham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daehoon Ham.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

We certify that all applicable institutional and governmental regulations concerning the ethical use of human volunteers were followed during the course of this research. The Ethics Committee of the Institutional Review Board of the National Rehabilitation Center in South Korea approved this study (approval number: NRC-2019-04-025) and waived the requirement for informed consent because of the retrospective design of this study.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lee, BS., Kim, O. & Ham, D. Epidemiologic changes in nontraumatic spinal cord injury for the last 30 years (1990–2019) in South Korea. Spinal Cord 60, 268–273 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-021-00695-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-021-00695-5

Search

Advanced search

Quick links