Gastrointestinal dysfunctions and their infl uence on the quality of life in aging adults with spinal cord injury

Summary: Background: People with spinal cord injury in the chronic stage of disability have several permanent health problems that get worse during aging. Among them, there are gastrointestinal complications, which have a significant negative impact on their quality of life. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the period since the incidence of the injury, level of spinal cord injury and Body Mass Index on the level of bowel dysfunction and on the quality of life of chronic patients. Method: Proceeding from a questionnaire-based survey, 42 adults with complete and incomplete spinal cord injuries completed the standardized questionnaire Neurogenic bowel dysfunction score (NBD Score), the standardized questionnaire Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Quality of Life survey (IBS-QOL) and non-standardized Czech version questionnaire Burwood Questionnaire. Results: A statistically significant positive linear correlation was evaluated between the period of time since the incidence of the injury and NBD score. The Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.6 (P = 0.02). However, there was no statistically significant linear correlation between the period of time since the incidence of the injury and value of IBS-QOL (–0.47; P = 0.47). Neither was there any statistically significant positive linear correlation with the variables the level of spinal cord injury and Body Mass Index. What most decrease the quality of life of disabled patients with gastrointestinal complications are concerns for their own health, depressive feelings, and diet routines. Conclusion: All medical staff should not neglect the need of dia­gnostic and therapy of the gastrointestinal problems in the aging subpopulation of people with spinal cord injury. Key words: spinal cord injury – neurogenic bowel dysfunction – questionnaire-based survey – quality of life – aging