title: Quality of life after lacunar stroke: the Secondary Prevention of Small Subcortical Strokes study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We sought to describe the course and predictors of quality of life (QOL) after lacunar stroke. We hypothesized that there is a decline in QOL after recovery from lacunar stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Secondary Prevention of Small Subcortical Strokes is a clinical trial in lacunar stroke patients with annual assessments of QOL with the stroke-specific QOL score. The overall score was used and analyzed as a continuous variable (range 0-5). We fit linear mixed models to assess the trend in QOL over time, assuming linearity of time, and adjusted for demographics, medical risk factors, cognitive factors, and functional status in univariable and multivariable models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 2870 participants, mean age was 63.4 years (SD 10.7), 63% were men, 51% White, 32% Hispanic, 36% had college education, 36% had diabetes, 89% had hypertension, and 10% had prior stroke. Mean poststroke Barthel Index (BI) score was 95.4 (assessed on average 6 months after stroke). In the final multivariable model, there was an average increase in QOL of .6% per year, and factors associated with decline in QOL over time included age (-.0003 per year, P < .0001), any college education (-.0013 per year, .01), prior stroke (-.004 per year, P < .0001), and BI (-.0002 per year, P < .0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this clinical trial of lacunar stroke patients, there was a slight annual increase in QOL overall, and age, level of education, and prior stroke were associated with changes in QOL over time. Multiple strokes may cause decline in QOL over time in the absence of recurrent events.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York. Electronic address: mandip.dhamoon@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Mandip S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Dhamoon
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
authors.forename: Leslie A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: McClure
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, Texas.
authors.forename: Carole L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Benavente
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Mitchell S V
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Elkind
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015897:Comorbidity; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D055502:Secondary Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D059409:Stroke, Lacunar / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors
keywords: Lacunar stroke; disability; quality of life; recovery