title: Prevalence and impact of joint symptoms in people with stroke aged 55 years and over.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish the prevalence and patterns of self-reported musculoskeletal symptoms in community-dwelling stroke survivors and their impact on common activities of daily living.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis of data from two consecutive postal surveys in northern England. Data on overall joint pain, swelling or stiffness and difficulties with daily living tasks were obtained from 16,222 individuals aged ≥ 55 years (a response rate of 86%). Information on stroke-specific impairments was obtained from the 415 individuals who reported a stroke.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-seven percent of stroke survivors reported musculoskeletal symptoms. There was a greater prevalence of reported symptoms in the smaller peripheral joints: 23.4% of stroke survivors reported symptoms in the ankle joint compared with 12.3% in the general population aged ≥ 55 years. Although both stroke-specific impairments and musculoskeletal pain contributed to difficulty in functional tasks, the effect of both was more than additive (for example, left hip symptoms increased the risk of having difficulty with standing and walking by 10.3 times (95% confidence interval 1.0, 106.3); stroke affecting the right leg increased the odds by 4.8 times (95% confidence interval 2.5, 9.2). Having both impairments increased the odds by 49.1 times (95% confidence interval 10.7, 225.4)).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Musculoskeletal symptoms are common in people with stroke and can have a significant additional effect on disability.
authors.affiliation: Academic Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Section of Musculoskeletal Disease, Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine University of Leeds, Level D, Martin Wing, Leeds General Infirmary, Great George Street, Leeds, LS1 3EX, United Kingdom. chamila@doctors.org.uk
authors.forename: Chamila
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hettiarachchi
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Conaghan
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tennant
authors.forename: Bipin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bhakta
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007592:Joint Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology