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Published on: May 22, 2019
Prevalence and Profile of Poststroke Subjective Cognitive Complaints
Mariëlle W A van Rijsbergen1, Ruth E Mark1, Paul L M de Kort2
1Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, CoRPS-Centre of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Background:
Subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs) are common after stroke, but detailed information about how SCCs differ between patients with stroke versus stroke-free individuals is not available. We evaluated the prevalence and profile of the 2 SCC components (content and worry) in patients 3 months after stroke versus controls using both a generic and a stroke-specific instrument.
Methods:
Using a cross-sectional design, 142 patients were compared to 135 controls (matched at group level on age, sex, and estimate of premorbid intelligence quotient). SCC-content and SCC-worry were assessed using the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and the Checklist of Cognitive and Emotional Consequences after stroke (CLCE-24). Univariate and multivariate linear (for continuous scores) and logistic (for dichotomous scores) regression analyses were used to explore differences between patients and controls on both instruments.
Results:
Based on the CLCE, patients reported more SCC-content (standardized β = .21, p.001) and SCC-worry (standardized β = .18, p.02) than controls in multivariate analyses. Profiles indicated that stroke was associated in particular with SCC-content on the domains of memory, attention, executive functioning, expressive language, and with attention-related SCC-worry. In contrast, no group differences were found on SCC-content and SCC-worry assessed by the CFQ.
Conclusions:
The prevalence and profile of SCC-content and SCC-worry differ between patients and controls 3 months after stroke. The instrument used may, however, determine prevalence estimates. Stroke-specific inventories that differentiate between SCC-content and SCC-worry are preferable when attempting to determine SCC after stroke.
