title: [Psychopathological disorders and quality of life in patients with brain infarction].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the influence of various factors on the health related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients who have suffered a brain infarction (BI), with special attention to psychopathological disorders (PD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective observational study on 45 patients admitted due to a BI, evaluated at 4, 12 and 26 weeks of the acute event. Social and demographic data, and medical history were collected; the SF-36 scale was used for the assessment of HRQOL, and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), MMSE, Canadian Neurological Scale, Modified Rankin Scale and other instruments for assessing psychopathological, cognitive, neurological and functional status. A linear regression analysis was performed to identify potential predictors of the SF-36 scores at 26 weeks, introducing, as independent variables, medical and psychiatric history, demographic characteristics and the functional, neuropsychological and psychopathological assessments at 4 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Valid predictive models for all the SF-36 domains were obtained, in which a history of pre-morbid depression, higher scores in the NPI and Rankin Scale, and lowest in the Canadian Neurological Scale were the main predictors of a worse HRQOL in the long term. Psychopathology related caregiver's distress (assessed with the NPI) was associated with a lower score in the social function index.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PDs and functional status were the main determinants of HRQOL in patients with BI.
authors.affiliation: Neurología, Hospital Virgen del Puerto, Plasencia, Cáceres, España. fer.castellanosp@gmail.com
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Castellanos Pinedo
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hernández Pérez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zurdo
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rodríguez Fúnez
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: García Fernández
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cueli Rincón
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hernández Bayo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bejarano Parra
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rodríguez Manchón
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000523:psychology; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059906:Neuroimaging; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires