SCI primarily affects young adults. Fifty-five percent of SCIs occur among persons in the 16 to 30 year age group, and the average age at injury is 32.1 years. Since 1973 there has been an increase in the mean age at time of injury. Those who were injured before 1979 had a mean age of 28.6 while those injured after 1990 had a mean age of 35.3 years. Another trend is an increase in the proportion of those who were at least 61 years of age at injury. In the 1970's persons older than 60 years of age at injury comprised 4.7% of the database. Since 1990 this has increased to 10%. This trend is not surprising since the median age of the general population has increased from 27.9 years to 35.3 years during the same time period.