Life Expectancy Calculator
Life expectancy estimates are based on the actual long-term survival experiences of persons treated at any current or previously funded model spinal cord injury care system or any of the three Shriners Hospital spinal cord injury units (Philadelphia, Chicago and Sacramento) with follow-up through January 2022. A person-year data set was created in which each year of follow-up for each person was treated as a separate observation. Logistic regression was then used to determine the impact of each risk factor on the likelihood of dying each year. A life table is then constructed using standard statistical procedures based on the annual age-specific probabilities of dying and the selected combination of risk factors, and the life expectancy is derived from that life table. A more complete description of the statistical methods used for this life expectancy calculator can be found in the following reference: Strauss D, Shavelle R, DeVivo MJ, Day S. An analytic method for longitudinal mortality studies. J Insur Med 2000;32:217-225.
These estimates should be interpreted cautiously. Life expectancy reflects the average experience of a group of similar individuals. Some individuals will not survive as long while others will survive longer. These estimates are based solely on the chosen factors below. Many other factors can also influence life expectancy and may need to be considered on a case by case basis.
* Due to data limitations, life expectancy estimates for persons of Hispanic ethnicity and Asian race are based on spinal cord injury data for Whites and will therefore be slight underestimates of life expectancy for these individuals.
** US general population estimates for Whites, African Americans and Hispanics in the absence of spinal cord injury are based on 2020 provisional age-sex-race-specific life tables published by the National Center for Health Statistics. Comparable estimates for Native Americans and Asians are based on life tables derived as a fixed percentage of White age-sex-specific life expectancy (Native American male 94.0%, Native American female 95.9%, Asian male 109.7%, Asian female 106.4%).
References:
1. DeVivo MJ, Stover SL. Long-term survival and causes of death. In: Stover SL, DeLisa JA, Whiteneck GG, editors. Spinal cord injury: clinical outcomes from the Model Systems. Gaithersburg (MD): Aspen, 1995, pp 289-316.
2. DeVivo MJ, Ivie CS. Life expectancy of ventilator-dependent persons with spinal cord injuries. Chest 1995;108:226-232.
3. DeVivo MJ, Krause JS, Lammertse DP. Recent trends in mortality and causes of death among persons with spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1999;80:1411-1419.
4. Strauss D, DeVivo MJ, Shavelle R. Long-term mortality risk after spinal cord injury. J Insur Med 2000;32:11-16.
5. Strauss D, Shavelle R, DeVivo MJ, Day S. An analytic method for longitudinal mortality studies. J Insur Med 2000;32:217-225.
6. DeVivo MJ. Estimating life expectancy for use in determining lifetime costs of care. Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil 2002;7(4):49-58.
7. Krause JS, DeVivo MJ, Jackson AB. Health status, community integration, and economic risk factors for mortality after spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2004;85:1764-1773.
8. Strauss DJ, DeVivo MJ, Paculdo DR, Shavelle RM. Trends in life expectancy after spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2006;87:1079-1085.
9. Shavelle RM, DeVivo MJ, Strauss DJ, Paculdo DR, Lammertse DP, Day SM. Long-term survival of persons ventilator dependent after spinal cord injury. J Spinal Cord Med 2006;29:511-519.
10. Shavelle RM, DeVivo MJ, Paculdo DR, Vogel LC, Strauss DJ. Long-term survival after childhood spinal cord injury. J Spinal Cord Med 2007;30(Suppl):S48-S54.
11. Strauss D, DeVivo M, Shavelle R, Brooks J, Paculdo D. Economic factor and longevity in spinal cord injury: a reappraisal. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2008;89:572-574.
12. Krause JS, Saunders LL, DeVivo MJ. Income and risk of mortality after spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2011;92:339-345.
13. Cao Y, Krause JS, DiPiro N. Risk factors for mortality after spinal cord injury in the USA. Spinal Cord 2013;51:413-418.
14. Cao Y, Massaro JF, Krause JS, Chen Y, DeVivo MJ. Suicide mortality after spinal cord injury in the United States: injury cohort analysis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2014;95:230-235.
15. Shavelle RM, Paculdo DR, Tran LM, Strauss DJ, Brooks JC, DeVivo MJ. Mobility, continence, and life expectancy in persons with ASIA impairment scale grade D spinal cord injuries. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2015;94:180-191.
16. Shavelle RM, DeVivo MJ, Brooks JC, Strauss DJ, Paculdo DR. Improvements in long-term survival after spinal cord injury? Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2015;96:645-651.
17. Nahm LS, Chen Y, DeVivo MJ, Lloyd LK. Bladder cancer mortality after spinal cord injury over 4 decades. J Urol 2015;193:1923-1928.
18. Krauss JS, Cao Y, DeVivo MJ, DiPiro ND. Risk and protective factors for cause-specific mortality after spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2016;97:1669-1678.