Fengshui Chang, Haixia Xie, Qi Zhang, Mei Sun, Yuhui Yang, Gang Chen, Huifang Wang, Chengyue Li, Jun Lu
China Research Center on Disability, Collaborative Innovation Center of Social Risks Governance in Health, Fudan University, China
DOI: 10.2340/16501977-2689

Objective: To evaluate the quality of life of patients with chronic spinal cord injury in mainland China.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Subjects: A total of 247 adults ≥ 1 year post-SCI in mainland China.
Methods: The World Health Organization (WHO) Quality of Life Scale Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) and the add-on modules on disability-related QoL (WHOQOL-DIS) were used to assess quality of life. Anxiety/depression was measured using the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety/Depression Scale. Quality of life was compared with that of reference populations from China, Korea, the international field trial (23 countries). Multivariate linear regression was conducted to determine the factors that might be associated with quality of life.
Results: The means of the 4 domains of the WHOQOL-BREF varied from 11. 5 to 13. 0. The mean of the 12-item WHOQOL-DIS module was 38. 7. The quality of life of the participants as measured by the WHOQOL-BREF was 1. 1–4. 7 points lower than that of the global reference population, while quality of life as measured by the WHOQOL-DIS module was 1. 2 points lower than that of the Korean data. Anxiety and depression were negative factors associated with quality of life (p < 0. 05). Better community integration was a positive factor for physical quality of life and quality of life as measured by the WHOQOL-DIS module (p <0. 01).
Conclusion: The quality of life of adults with chronic spinal cord injury in mainland China was lower compared with reference populations. Duration of spinal cord injury, sex, community integration, anxiety, and depression were related to quality of life.

Quality of life is an important outcome in spinal cord injury rehabilitation practice and research. This study described the quality of life profile of 247 adults with c-hronic spinal cord injury in mainland China. The quality of life of the participants was lower than that of the global reference population, as was disability-related quality of life compared with the Korean data. Duration of spinal cord injury was a positive factor in the physical health of adults with spinal cord injury, while anxiety and depression were negative factors associated with quality of life in the same population. Community integration improvement was correlated with better physical and disability-related quality of life. To improve quality of life, rehabilitation schemes may include interventions to promote mental health and community integration among patients with chronic spinal cord injury.