The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
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Individuals living with a spinal cord injury (SCI) are at heightened risk for a number of chronic health conditions such as secondary comorbidities that may develop or be influenced by the injury, the presence of impairment, and/or the process of aging. However, very little is known about the development of secondary comorbidities among individuals living with nontraumatic SCIs (NTSCIs). ⋯ Adults with NTSCIs have a significantly increased prevalence of psychological morbidities, chronic disease, and multimorbidity, as compared to adults without SCIs. Efforts are needed to facilitate the development of improved clinical screening algorithms and early interventions to reduce risk of disease onset/progression in this higher risk population.