Health-related quality of life among chronic stroke survivors attending a rehabilitation clinic

Kong KH, Yang SY
Correspondence: Dr Kong Keng He, keng_he_kong@ttsh.com.sg

ABSTRACT
Introduction To assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among chronic stroke survivors and factors associated with it.
Methods Cross-sectional survey study of patients who had survived one year or more after a stroke. Subjects consisted of stroke patients attending the outpatient clinic of a rehabilitation centre. HRQOL was assessed using the Medical Outcomes 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), functional status using the Modified Barthel Index (MBI), and mood using the Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI).
Results A total of 100 patients (63 men and 37 women, mean age 60.7 +/-10.8 years) were interviewed at an average of 22.2 +/-14.5 months post-stroke. The mean MBI was 88.9 +/-17.9, and the prevalence of depression 24%. 50 percent of patients needed varying degrees of care for their activities of daily living. The SF-36 scores of the patients were comparable to that of the general population except for the domain of physical function, which was much lower (23.9 versus 83.4). Age, sex, post-stroke duration, MBI score and side of hemiplegia were not associated with HRQOL. Depressed patients however had significantly lower SF-36 scores across all domains except for that of physical function and bodily pain (p-value is less than 0.001).
Conclusion A significant proportion of chronic stroke survivors attending the rehabilitation clinic continue to face limitations in their physical activities. In addition, almost 30 percent of these survivors have depression that affects their HRQOL adversely.

Keywords: cerebrovascular accident, depression, quality of life, stroke, stroke rehabilitation
Singapore Med J 2006; 47(3): 213-218