Arthritis and associated limitations in community-dwelling Canadians living with stroke

Residual impairments and gait deviations post-stroke may lead to secondary musculoskeletal complications such as arthritis. This study explored the prevalence of arthritis and associated functional limitations in community-dwelling Canadians with and without stroke.

Secondary analysis of the Canadian Community Health Survey; a population-based, cross-sectional survey conducted by Statistics Canada in 2011 and 2012. Respondents >50 years old who reported a stroke diagnosis (n = 1892) were age- and gender-matched with controls randomly selected from survey respondents who did not report a stroke (n = 1892). Stroke and control groups were compared on presence of arthritis (yes/no) and secondary variables including pain, perceived health and assistance required (5 point scales) using the Rao-Scott X(2) test. Within the stroke group, logistic regression was used to investigate the effect of arthritis on life satisfaction, pain limiting activities and perceived health with age, gender, BMI, comorbidities and socioeconomic status used as covariates in the model.

A greater proportion of the stroke group (53%) reported arthritis compared to controls (43%). These groups also differed in reports of perceived health and pain. Within the stroke group, those with arthritis were significantly more likely to report pain limiting activities (OR 3.89) and less likely to report satisfaction with life (OR 0.59).

This preliminary work suggests that arthritis is more prevalent in individuals with stroke compared to individuals without stroke and that this co-morbidity is associated with worse reports of pain and perceived health. A limitation is that it is not possible to determine if the arthritis pre-dated or followed the stroke. This work provides support for a longitudinal investigation of the development of secondary musculoskeletal issues post-stroke.