Association Between Toileting Independence and Higher Brain Functions in Post-Stroke Inpatients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives: We aimed to cross-sectionally examine and clarify the types of higher brain functions associated with toileting independence in post-stroke inpatients.

Materials and methods: From November 2017 to October 2020, 51 participants were selected from a database of post-stroke inpatients in a Japanese hospital; the selected participants had missing data. The objective variable was the independence of toileting and toilet transfer in the Functional Independence Measure; independence was set at 6 points or more. The covariates were age, sex, and Berg balance scale score; the explanatory variables were higher brain functions of four items (forward digit span, visual cancelation task [VCT] correctness rate, symbol digit modalities test score, and Kohs block design test score). Logistic regression analysis was performed using multiple imputation and Bayesian modeling.

Results: VCT correctness rate was significantly associated with toileting independence in the best model selected (odds ratio 1.16; 95% credible interval 1.02, 1.49).

Conclusion: Selective attention (assessed by VCT correctness rate) may be associated with, and predict, toileting independence in post-stroke inpatients.