[Impact of rural or urban areas on disability after a stroke]

To assess the residual disability in a sample of patients after suffering a first episode of a stroke and to compare the disability of those patients who live in rural areas with those living in urban areas.

An observational, longitudinal study of a cohort of 89 patients from a Neurology Unit, affected by cerebrovascular accident. The following factors were assessed: sociodemographic and environmental factors, co-morbidity, functional status, disability, depression and anxiety, and quality of life. The different clinical and demographic variables were compared after admission to the unit, at hospital discharge, and 3 months afterwards. Regression analyses were also carried out in order to study the association between the clinical and sociodemographic factors, and post-stroke disability.

Compared to their previous clinical state, after suffering a stroke patients showed a higher rate of co-morbidity (P<.0001), disability (P<.0001), depression (P=.002), and a poorer quality of life (P=.013). The difference between patients coming from rural and urban areas was not statistically significant in terms of disability, quality of life, anxiety, depression, or co-morbidity.

The level of disability, depression and co-morbidity that patients showed after suffering a stroke was similar to the results obtained in other studies. As a novel feature, there were no differences between patients living in rural areas after suffering a stroke and those living in urban areas, as regards disability, depression, or co-morbidity.