Traumatic spinal cord injury in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1935-1981.

The incidence rate for acute traumatic spinal cord injury in Olmsted County, Minnesota, for 1935-1981, standardizing for age, sex, and calendar year, was 54.8 per million person-years--83.4 for males and 27.7 for females. Thirty-eight per cent of cases died prior to hospitalization. The annual incidence rate for those reaching hospital alive was 34.2 per million person-years. The proportion of cases dying during initial hospitalization was 11.5%. Considering all deaths within the first year after injury, the standardized mortality rate from spinal cord trauma was 25.5 per million person-years. Automobile-related injuries constituted half of all causes of spinal cord injury and death. An increase in both incidence and hospitalization rates of traumatic spinal cord injuries in the past 17 years was observed in young men, attributable to recreational and motorcycle-related events.