Table 1 Basic characteristics of the SwiSCI baseline population in employable age
| Â | m: men, women | Total | Men | Women | p gender differencesb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(n = 1157) | (n = 840) | (n = 317) | |||
Sociodemographic and lesion characteristics | |||||
Age, mean (SD) | 0, 0 | 46.5 (11.2) | 46.7 (11.2) | 45.8 (11.2) | 0.225 |
Education in years, mean (SD) | 15, 2 | 13.9 (3.3) | 13.9 (3.2) | 13.8 (3.4) | 0.069 |
Having a partner, n (%) | 28, 6 | 747 (66.5) | 552 (68.1) | 195 (62.7) | 0.093 |
Receiving disability pension, n (%) | 0, 0 | 648 (56.0) | 446 (53.1) | 202 (63.7) | 0.001 |
Lesion severity, n (%) | 7, 2 | Â | Â | Â | 0.001 |
  Paraplegia incomplete |  | 400 (34.8) | 268 (32.2) | 132 (41.9) |  |
  Paraplegia complete |  | 392 (34.2) | 293 (35.2) | 99 (31.4) |  |
  Tetraplegia incomplete |  | 223 (19.4) | 160 (19.2) | 63 (20.0) |  |
  Tetraplegia complete |  | 133 (11.6) | 112 (13.5) | 21 (6.7) |  |
Time since injury in years, mean (SD) | 17, 8 | 16.9 (11.7) | 17.0 (11.8) | 16.6 (11.6) | 0.674 |
Traumatic aetiology, n (%) | 10, 3 | 958 (83.7) | 728 (87.7) | 230 (73.3) | < 0.001 |
 Non-traumatic aetiology |  | 186 (16.3) | 102 (12.3) | 84 (26.8) |  |
Functional independence, 0-100, mean (SD) | 205, 86 | 66.6 (22.0) | 67.1 (22.2) | 67.7 (19.8) | 0.912 |
Load of productive activities | |||||
Total productivity load, 0–100, mean (SD) | 22, 12 | 22.9 (12.7) | 23.2 (12.9) | 22.2 (11.9) | 0.188 |
  Lowest quartile, n (%) |  | 264 (23.6) | 187 (23.0) | 77 (25.4) | 0.266 |
  2nd quartile, n (%) |  | 259 (23.2) | 179 (22.0) | 80 (26.4) |  |
  3rd quartile, n (%) |  | 328 (29.4) | 247 (30.3) | 81 (26.7) |  |
  Highest quartile, n (%) |  | 266 (23.8) | 201 (24.7) | 65 (21.5) |  |
Paid work (h/week), n (%) | 1, 1 | Â | Â | Â | < 0.001 |
  None |  | 446 (39.1) | 290 (34.9) | 156 (50.2) |  |
  1–16 |  | 195 (17.1) | 131 (15.6) | 69 (21.8) |  |
  > 16 |  | 501 (43.9) | 418 (49.8) | 91 (28.8) |  |
Volunteering (h/week), n (%) | 0, 1 | Â | Â | Â | 0.066 |
  None |  | 572 (49.5) | 398 (47.4) | 174 (55.1) |  |
  1–8 |  | 461 (39.9) | 349 (41.6) | 112 (35.4) |  |
   > 8 |  | 123 (10.6) | 93 (11.1) | 30 (9.5) |  |
Education (h/week), n (%) | 1, 1 | Â | Â | Â | 0.009 |
  None |  | 852 (73.8) | 599 (71.4) | 253 (80.1) |  |
  1–8 |  | 240 (20.8) | 188 (22.4) | 52 (16.5) |  |
   > 8 |  | 63 (5.5) | 52 (6.2) | 11 (3.5) |  |
Housework (h/week), n (%) | 20, 11 | Â | Â | Â | < 0.001 |
  None |  | 144 (12.8) | 127 (15.5) | 17 (5.6) |  |
  1–8 |  | 556 (49.4) | 444 (54.2) | 112 (36.6) |  |
   > 8 |  | 426 (37.8) | 249 (30.4) | 177 (57.8) |  |
Diversity of productive activities | |||||
Number of productive activities, mean (SD) | 22, 12 | 2.3 (1.1) | 2.3 (1.1) | 2.1 (0.9) | 0.001 |
  None, n (%) |  | 55 (4.9) | 48 (5.9) | 7 (2.3) | < 0.001 |
  One, n (%) |  | 217 (19.3) | 138 (16.9) | 79 (25.9) | |
  Two, n (%) |  | 365 (32.5) | 253 (30.9) | 112 (37.7) | |
  Three, n (%) |  | 349 (31.1) | 259 (31.7) | 90 (29.5) | |
  Four, n (%) |  | 137 (12.2) | 120 (14.7) | 17 (5.6) | |
Combination of productive activities, n (%) | 22, 12 | Â | Â | Â | < 0.001 |
  None or one activity |  | 272 (24.2) | 186 (22.7) | 86 (28.2) |  |
  Two or three unpaid activitiesa |  | 185 (16.5) | 116 (14.2) | 69 (22.6) |  |
  Paid work + one unpaid activitya |  | 224 (20.0) | 165 (20.2) | 59 (19.3) |  |
  Paid work + two unpaid activitiesa |  | 305 (27.2) | 231 (28.2) | 74 (24.3) |  |
  Paid work + three unpaid activitiesa |  | 137 (12.2) | 120 (14.7) | 17 (5.6) |  |
Mental health and quality of life | |||||
 Mental health, 0–100, mean (SD) | 0, 0 | 71.6 (17.8) | 73.1 (17.3) | 67.5 (18.4) | < 0.001 |
 Quality of life, 0–20, mean (SD) | 0, 0 | 13.6 (3.6) | 13.8 (3.6) | 13.4 (3.7) | 0.152 |