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Published on: April 21, 2017
Physical activity in community-dwelling stroke survivors and a healthy population is not explained by motor function
Anna Danielsson1, Cristiane Meirelles2, Carin Willen3
1Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden(∗).
Objectives:
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.
Design:
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.
Setting:
University hospital.
Participants:
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.
Main Outcome Measurements:
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.
Conclusion:
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.
