Potential predictors for health-related quality of life in stroke patients undergoing inpatient rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND

Improving HRQOL is the desired outcome for patients with stroke undergoing inpatient rehabilitation services. This study aimed to comprehensively identify the potential health-related quality of life (HRQOL) predictors in patients with stroke undergoing inpatient rehabilitation within the first year after stroke; thus far, such an investigation has not been conducted.

METHODS

We enrolled 119 patients (88 males, 31 females) with stroke, and examined 12 potential predictors: age, sex, stroke type, stroke side, duration after onset, cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination; MMSE), depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II), stroke severity (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; NIHSS), upper- and lower-extremity motor function scores of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) scale, balance (Berg Balance Scale; BBS), and functional status (Functional Independence Measure). HRQOL was measured using Stroke Impact Scale (SIS) 3.0.

RESULTS

NIHSS score predicted the strength domain and total SIS score (41.5% and 41.7% of the variances, respectively). BBS score was a major predictor of mobility and participation/role domains (48.6% and 10% of the variances, respectively). MMSE score predicted the memory and communication domains (22.5% and 36.3% of the variances, respectively). Upper extremity score of the FMA scale predicted the daily living/instrumental activities of daily life and hand function domains (40.3% and 20.6% of the variances, respectively). Stroke side predicted the emotion domain (11.6% of the variance).

CONCLUSIONS

NIHSS, MMSE, BBS, FMA, and stroke side predicted most HRQOL domains. These findings suggest that different factors predicted various HRQOL domains in patients with stroke.