Life expectancy for post-one year spinal cord injury survivors 2023

The life expectancy for those who survive one year after a spinal cord injury depends greatly on the severity of the injury and the age of the injured. For example, a 20-year-old who survives one year after a spinal cord injury causing paraplegia can expect to live around 42 more years. However, if a 20-year-old survives one year after a low tetraplegia spinal cord injury they are only expected to live about 26.7 more years on average.

How many spinal cord injuries are there every year?

In the United States, there are around 18,000 spinal cord injuries every year. As of 2023, there were estimated to be around 305,000 people in the United States living with a spinal cord injury. The average age when spinal injuries occur is 43 years and vehicular accidents are the most common cause of spinal cord injuries in the United States, followed by falls and violence. Between 2015 and 2023, almost 38 percent of spinal cord injuries in the U.S. were caused by vehicular accidents, while eight percent were caused by sports accidents.

The cost of spinal cord injuries

Spinal cord injuries can not only impact a person’s daily living and life quality but can also have a substantial financial impact. For example, the average expenses for the first year for someone in the U.S. with a spinal cord injury causing paraplegia was 667,569 U.S. dollars as of 2023. After the first year someone with this type of injury could expect average yearly expenses of over 88,000 U.S. dollars. All in all, the lifetime costs for a 25-year-old patient with a spinal cord injury causing paraplegia are just under three million U.S. dollars. However, a 25-year-old with a high tetraplegia spinal cord injury could expect lifetime costs of just over six million U.S. dollars.