Levels of anxiety and depression in spinal cord-injured patients

To test the hypothesis that the experience of anxiety or depression correlates with the degree of sensory input, the levels of anxiety and depression in 19 quadriplegic and 16 paraplegic patients were compared by administering Zung self-rating scales. The majority of patients scored within the normal range. Quadriplegic patients were not significantly more depressed or anxious than paraplegic patients, and levels of spinal cord lesions were not associated with any significant differences in scores. These results suggest that the level of sensory input is unlikely to play a dominant role in anxiety and depression.