title: Cerebral microbleeds and quality of life in acute ischemic stroke.
abstract: This study evaluated the impact of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in 458 Chinese patients with first or recurrent acute ischemic stroke. HRQoL was assessed with the Short Form-36 (SF-36). Univariate analysis showed the presence of lobar CMBs to be negatively correlated with patients' physical functioning (PF; p < 0.01), social function (SF; p < 0.01), and role-emotional (RE; p < 0.05) scores. Subsequent linear regression analysis revealed lobar CMBs to be independently associated with the PF and SF scores (p < 0.05). The limitations of this study include the exclusion of patients with more severe stroke, the lack of longitudinal assessments, the use of a generic rather than stroke-specific HRQoL scale, and the less than optimal sensitivity of the CMB measurement. The study findings suggest that CMBs have a significant impact on the HRQoL of stroke survivors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. tangwk@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: W K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Y K
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Ahuja
authors.forename: W C W
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: V C T
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Mok
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Ungvari
authors.forename: Y T
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012008:Recurrence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*