The association between social networks and functional recovery after stroke

Social determinants of health (SDOH), including social networks, impact disability and quality of life post-stroke, yet the direct influence of SDOH on functional change remains undetermined. We aimed to identify which SDOH predict change on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) within 90 days after stroke hospitalization.

Stroke patients from the Transitions of Care Stroke Disparities Study (TCSDS) were enrolled from 12 hospitals in the Florida Stroke Registry. TCSDS aims to identify disparities in hospital-to-home transitions after stroke. SDOH were collected by trained interviewers at hospital discharge. The mRS was assessed at discharge, 30- and 90-day post-stroke. Multinomial logistic regression models examined contributions of each SDOH to mRS improvement or worsening (compared to no change) from discharge to 30- and 90-day, respectively.

Of 1190 participants, median age was 64 years, 42% were women, 52% were non-Hispanic White, and 91% had an ischemic stroke. Those with a limited social support network had greater odds of functional decline at 30 days (aOR = 1.39, 1.17-1.66), adjusting for age and onset to arrival time and at 90 days (aOR = 1.50, 1.10-2.05) after adjusting for age. Results were consistent after further adjustment for additional SDOH and participant characteristics. Individuals living with a spouse/partner had reduced odds of functional decline at 90 days (aOR = 0.74, 0.57-0.98); however, results were inconsistent with more conservative modeling approaches.

The findings highlight the importance of SDOH, specifically having a greater number of individuals in your social network in functional recovery after stroke.