At age 5 years, life expectancy was 27 years for men who were most severely impaired, 65 years for least severely impaired<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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THURSDAY, Feb. 12, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Factors such as ambulatory and feeding ability and bowel\/bladder continence affect life expectancy in people with open spina bifida, according to a study published online Feb. 11 in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology<\/em>.<\/p>\n Robert M. Shavelle, Ph.D., from the Life Expectancy Project in San Francisco, California, and colleagues estimated life expectancy for individuals with open spina bifida in a study using extensive data from 1,659 persons in California from 1986 to 2019. Empirical mortality rates were calculated and rates were also derived from various cohorts; life expectancies were obtained following construction of life tables.<\/p>\n The researchers observed significant variation in survival by ambulatory and feeding ability and by bowel\/bladder continence. At age 5 years, the life expectancy was 27 and 65 additional years for men in the most severely impaired and least severely impaired groups, respectively, compared with 70 years in the general population. A modest secular trend was observed, with mortality decreasing by about 1 percent per year; life expectancy calculations accounted for this trend.<\/p>\n “We confirmed that survival in spina bifida depends critically on the severity of impairment, especially motor function, feeding ability, and continence,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n