Characteristics of the Frenchay Activities Index one year after a stroke: a population-based study.
OBJECTIVE
To further describe the properties of Frenchay Activities Index (FAI) with special emphasis on relationships with stroke severity and cognition.


METHODS
Survivors from a population-based first-ever stroke cohort (n = 246) were assessed with FAI one year post-stroke. At the same time patients were asked about their status pre-stroke. Stroke severity was assessed at baseline with the NIH stroke scale (NIHSS). Cognition was assessed at one year with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE).


RESULTS
Pre-stroke and post-stroke FAI averaged at 40.1 and 32.4, respectively. There was a floor effect post-stroke, where 17% had the lowest possible score. The sum score was related to age, but not to gender. Individual items, however, were gender-related. NIHSS was clearly related to the difference FAI pre-stroke - post-stroke, but individual variations were large. Individual NIHSS items differed regarding their impact on post-stroke FAI. MMSE post-stroke also has a clear relationship with FAI, but there are large individual variations.


CONCLUSIONS
This study establishes a population-based standard for FAI scores one year after a stroke. The effects of stroke severity and cognition have been demonstrated. FAI gives useful information that is not obtained from basic ADL scales, such as the Barthel Index.
Appelros
Peter
P
Department of Neurology, Orebro University Hospital, Orebro, Sweden. peter.appelros@orebroll.se
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000145:classification*