[Changes in health-related quality of life in incipient stroke survivors].
OBJECTIVE
To assess the long-term changes in quality of life of stroke patients.


METHODS
A total of 467 stroke survivors were recruited for this study. The participants completed the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) at a three-month interval over two years. Multi-level modelling was performed to identify the trend of changes and associated demographic characteristics.


RESULTS
The participants had (31.50 +/- 10.49) PCS and (51.92 +/- 10.03) MCS at the baseline survey. Overall, PCS and MCS scores increased over time, but MCS scores declined slightly 15 months later. Men had higher PCS scores than women. The multi-level model revealed similar trends of PCS changes in those with different gender and education. Older patients had slower changes in quality of life over time (beta9 = -0.013, P = 0.03) compared with their younger counterparts. The trends of MCS changes were similar among those with different age, gender and education.


CONCLUSIONS
Support should be strengthened for female stroke survivors and those with older age and lower levels of education.
Long-mei
LM
Chen
Meng-dong
MD
Ran
Bing-qing
BQ
Liu
Jian
J
Zhao
Cai-rong
CR
Zhu
D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D020521:Stroke; D017741:Survivors