Quality of Life Within Three Months After Stroke: A Study in the City of Arak, Iran

The impact of stroke on quality of life (QoL) may be different in diverse societies because of varying availability and accessibility of health and social care services provided in various settings. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate changes in patients' QoL within three months after stroke and to address the research question; "What factors influence QoL after stroke in Iranian population?"

A total number of 172 patients admitted to the Stroke Unit of Amiralmomenin Hospital in the city of Arak, Iran, were recruited in this study. The Stroke Impact Scale (SIS-16) was used at three different time-points to evaluate post-stroke QoL. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Bonferroni method and marginal model with generalized estimating equation (GEE) were employed to analyze the data.

The findings revealed a significant decline in QoL within the first month after stroke compared with post-stroke state. The mean values of patients' QoL also improved within three months after stroke although they did not reach the pre-stroke level. A positive relationship was also observed between age, high National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores, hypertension, right side lesion and previous stroke, as well as patients' poor QoL. Moreover; gender, level of education, job status, and income had no influence on QoL in stroke survivors.

It was concluded that being older, having higher NIHSS score, suffering from hypertension, right side lesion and previous stroke could be significantly correlated with poor patients' QoL. Therefore, effective interventions focusing on older individuals especially those with more severe impairments were assumed to help in improving post-stroke QoL in patients; regardless of their gender, level of education, and social activities.