Severe spinal cord trauma on the increase.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

The frequency of traumatic spinal cord injuries is increasing, and incidence is higher in older patients, shows a study at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., which will help target specific populations for preventive measures, says lead author Nitin B. Jain, associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

"We find that spinal cord injury as a result of falls is a major public health Issue in older patients, and we need to find what the causes for that are and appropriately design interventions." Jain points out that one in five with such injuries dies in the hospital.

Before the study, there was limited data on trends of the incidence and cause of spinal cord injury. Researchers discovered that, while incidence rates among the younger male population has dropped over the last 20 years, rates for men ages 65 to 74 jumped from 84 to 131 cases per 1,000,000.

"We don't really know the exact reasons for why there is an...