Disability Status and Its Influencing Factors Among Stroke Patients in Northeast China: A 3-Year Follow-Up Study

Purpose: To explore the rate of post-stroke disability and its associated factors in the third year following discharge from inpatient rehabilitation in Northeast China.

Design: A prospective cohort study.

Methods: A total of 522 persons who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of stroke were recruited consecutively between April 2015 and December 2015 and followed for 3 years. The primary outcome was disability, which was assessed using the Modified Barthel Index (MBI), a cutoff score of ≤95 indicates disability. Plausible risk factors of disability were selected from available variables to perform multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Findings: The proportion of post-stroke patients with disability decreased from 63.8% to 46.7% at 3-year follow-up. The factors associated with post-stroke disability were age, neurological deficits, cognitive function, depression, and social support.

Conclusions/clinical relevance: Disability continues to be a significant issue for individuals after a stroke, and community health workers should perform targeted assessments and interventions to decrease disability, and pay special attention to individuals who are at greatest risk of post-stroke disability.