Women vs men after traumatic spinal cord injury: Longitudinal sex differences in secondary complications…

Cohort studyDisability and health journal· Aug 2026

Women vs men after traumatic spinal cord injury: Longitudinal sex differences in secondary complications, rehospitalization burden, and community participation.

Andrea Calderone, Loredana Raciti, Maria Pia Onesta … Rocco Salvatore Calabrò

Spinal Cord Injury RehabilitationCohort studyClinical practiceQ1IF 3.0

Women had higher odds of urinary tract infection than men after spinal cord injury.

Women vs men after traumatic spinal cord injury: Longitudinal sex differences in secondary complications, rehospitalization burden, and community participation.

Andrea Calderone … Rocco Salvatore Calabrò

Disability and health journal · Aug 2026 · Q1 in General Medicine

Background

Long-term outcomes after traumatic spinal cord injury (traumatic spinal cord injury) reflect secondary complications, rehospitalization, and participation restriction, yet longitudinal sex differences remain incompletely characterized.

Purpose

To examine female-versus-male differences in secondary complications, rehospitalization burden, and community participation across post-injury anniversary waves.

Methods

Of 34,675 baseline records screened, 29,049 participants with recorded female/male sex entered the longitudinal analytic cohort, contributing 72,299 person-waves across waves 1-40.

n = 29,049 participants

Results

women had higher odds of urinary tract infection than men after spinal cord injury

OR 1.35 (95% CI 1.25 to 1.45)

null 1

1.25

1.45

CI excludes the null - significant

More results

Women had lower pressure-ulcer odds (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.80 to 0.94), similar fall odds, slightly higher any-rehospitalization odds, but fewer rehospitalization days.

More results

In participation subsets, women had lower Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique) Mobility, lower competitive employment, and fewer weeks employed, but higher Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique Occupation.

“

Conclusion · 1 of 2

Sex-related differences after traumatic spinal cord injury were multidomain and nonuniform. Women experienced greater urinary and pain burden with less favorable mobility and employment-related participation, but lower pressure-ulcer odds.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

These findings support sex-informed follow-up across complications, hospital use, and participation after traumatic spinal cord injury, and caution against treating sex differences as uniformly favorable or unfavorable across outcomes.

Women vs men after traumatic spinal cord injury: Longitudinal sex differences in secondary complications, rehospitalization burden, and community participation.

Women vs men after traumatic spinal cord injury: Longitudinal sex differences in secondary complications, rehospitalization burden, and community participation.

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