Spinal Cord Injuries Put People At Risk For Chronic Health Problems

Key Takeaways

• A spinal cord injury increases a person’s risk for a range of chronic health problems

• Patients are more likely to have high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and psychiatric and neurological disorders

• Many of these health problems increase their overall risk of death

THURSDAY, Nov. 6, 2025 (HealthDay News) — A spinal cord injury might be only the beginning of a person’s health woes, according to a new study.

People who’ve suffered spinal cord injuries are more likely to develop an array of chronic health problems, researchers reported Nov. 4 in JAMA Network Open.

High blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and a host of brain problems and psychiatric conditions are some of the problems likely to plague a person who’s had a traumatic spinal cord injury.

This increased risk is regardless of the patient’s age, the location of their spinal cord injury or their prior health, researchers found.

“The journey doesn't end when patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries leave the hospital or rehab,” senior researcher Dr. Saef Izzy, a neurologist at Mass General Brigham in Boston, said in a news release.

“Programs should be implemented to identify patients at risk so that we can better manage their chronic care and address health issues that put patients at higher risk of death,” he added.

For the new study, researchers tracked the health of more than 1,000 spinal cord injury patients treated at Mass General Brigham and 1,700 treated by the University of California Health System between January 1996 and January 2024.

Researchers matched these patients to similar folks without a spinal cord injury, and tracked them over a follow-up period of up to 20 years.

Compared to the healthy control group, people with spinal cord injuries had a: 

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• 60% increased risk of high blood pressure

• 50% increased risk of elevated cholesterol

• 2.5 times increased risk of stroke

• 80% increased risk of clogged arteries leading to heart disease

• 50% increased risk of diabetes

• Tripled risk of dementia 

• Tripled risk of seizures

• More than doubled risk of depression

Most of these health risks were tied to an increased risk of death following a spinal cord injury, researchers found.

For example, post-injury high blood pressure doubled a person’s risk of death; hormone disruptions increased death risk fivefold or more; depression tripled risk; seizures increased risk more than sixfold; and dementia nearly fivefold, researchers found.

A spinal cord injury might affect a person’s health by causing inflammation, impairing blood vessel function, disrupting the automatic functions of the body, and damaging their gut microbiome and immune response, researchers speculated.

People with such an injury also might suffer from a lack of physical activity, an unhealthy diet and social isolation, all of which can contribute to poor health, researchers said.

“These findings highlight the need for proactive and multidisciplinary long-term care strategies,” Izzy said. “Future studies are needed to identify effective interventions to reduce the burden of chronic disease among patients who have had a traumatic spinal cord injury.”

More information

Harvard Medical School has more on spinal cord trauma.

SOURCES: Mass General Brigham, news release, Nov. 4, 2025; JAMA Network Open, Nov. 4, 2025

What This Means For You

People with a spinal cord injury should be aware of the higher risks they run for chronic disease and take steps to protect their health.