Physical activity in community-dwelling stroke survivors and a healthy population is not explained by motor function only.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the relationship between self-reporting and physical measures and compare self-reported physical activity (PA) levels in persons who have had a stroke with self-reported PA levels in a control population.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional assessment of a convenience sample of survivors of a stroke living in the community and a population-based sample from the same community.

SETTING

University hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

Seventy persons (48 men and 22 women; average age, 60 years) who had a stroke a mean of 6 years earlier and 141 persons (70 men and 71 women; average age, 59 years) who served as control subjects.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS

The Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) was used, and self-selected and maximum walking speeds were measured. Motor function after stroke was assessed with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment.

RESULTS

The median Fugl-Meyer score for motor function in the leg was 29. Mean self-selected and maximum walking speeds after having a stroke were 1.0 m/s and 1.3 m/s, corresponding to 72% and 65% of control values. A regression model with PASE as the dependent variable and age and walking speed as independent variables explained 29% (P < .001) of the variation in the stroke group. For the control group, age and self-selected walking speed explained 8% of the variation (P < .01). The mean PASE score in the stroke group was 119, compared with 161 in the control group.

CONCLUSION

Persons who have experienced a stroke and live in the community are less physically active than the population of the same age who have not had a stroke. However, it appears that factors other than motor impairment have an impact on a person's PA level, because only a low association was found between PA level and motor function, with a large dispersion in PA levels in persons with a history of stroke who were physically well recovered.