title: Physical activity in community-dwelling stroke survivors and a healthy population is not explained by motor function only.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the relationship between self-reporting and physical measures and compare self-reported physical activity (PA) levels in persons who have had a stroke with self-reported PA levels in a control population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional assessment of a convenience sample of survivors of a stroke living in the community and a population-based sample from the same community.
  
  
  METHODS
  University hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy persons (48 men and 22 women; average age, 60 years) who had a stroke a mean of 6 years earlier and 141 persons (70 men and 71 women; average age, 59 years) who served as control subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) was used, and self-selected and maximum walking speeds were measured. Motor function after stroke was assessed with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median Fugl-Meyer score for motor function in the leg was 29. Mean self-selected and maximum walking speeds after having a stroke were 1.0 m/s and 1.3 m/s, corresponding to 72% and 65% of control values. A regression model with PASE as the dependent variable and age and walking speed as independent variables explained 29% (P < .001) of the variation in the stroke group. For the control group, age and self-selected walking speed explained 8% of the variation (P < .01). The mean PASE score in the stroke group was 119, compared with 161 in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Persons who have experienced a stroke and live in the community are less physically active than the population of the same age who have not had a stroke. However, it appears that factors other than motor impairment have an impact on a person's PA level, because only a low association was found between PA level and motor function, with a large dispersion in PA levels in persons with a history of stroke who were physically well recovered.
authors: Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden(∗).
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Danielsson
authors: Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden(†).
authors: Cristiane
authors: C
authors: Meirelles
authors: Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden(‡).
authors: Carin
authors: C
authors: Willen
authors: Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Per Dubbsgatan 14, S-41345 Göteborg, Sweden; and Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway(§). Electronic address: ks.sunnerhagen@neuro.gu.se.
authors: Katharina Stibrant
authors: KS
authors: Sunnerhagen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*