2. Global prevalence of spinal cord injuries

According to World Health Organization (WHO) report, individuals suffering from SCIs hold 2–5 times more chances of premature death compared to non-SCI individuals, whereas the ratio of survival rate get worsen in low and middle income countries [2]. The high morbidity ratio of SCIs has driven widespread exploration into treatments and rehabilitations to recover neural function after SCIs. The incidence and prevalence rate of SCIs, in particular of traumatic SCIs, varies widely among different regions across the globe, mainly due to fluctuating sources of facts and figures and missing or unrecorded data [6]. Apart from including sudden deaths from SCIs, the annual incidence rate of traumatic SCIs across the globe is 2.5–83 cases/per million population, whereas the highest ratio has been recorded in the USA [6]. Although the incidence rate of traumatic SCI is high, recently it has been reported that the incidence rate of nontraumatic SCIs is also increasing [5]. According to WHO report, there are around 250,000– 500,000 people suffering annually from SCIs across the globe, where majority of the cases are due to road vehicle accidents, tumbles and other physical aggressiveness. As per 2016 updated report from National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC), the estimated annual incidence rate of SCI is ~54 cases/million population. The estimated number of individuals living with SCIs in 2016 is ~282,000, whereas the ratio is higher in male population accounting for around 80% of newly reported cases of SCIs [7].
