Acute clinical outcomes predict both generic and specific health-related quality of life six and 12 months after stroke: A one-year prospective study developed in a middle-income country

Abstract

Objective: To identify acute predictors of generic and specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) six and 12 months after stroke in individuals from a middle-income country.

Material and methods: This was a prospective study. The dependent outcomes assessed during six and 12 months after stroke included both generic and specific HRQoL (Short Form Health Survey-36 [SF-36] and stroke-specific quality of life [SSQOL]). The predictors were age, sex, education level, length of hospital stay, current living arrangement, stroke severity, functional independence, and motor impairment.

Results: 122 (59.9±14 years) and 103 (59.8±14.71 years) individuals were evaluated six and 12 months after stroke, respectively. Functional independence and sex were significant acute predictors of both generic and specific HRQoL. Functional independence was the strongest predictor (0.149≤R²≤0.262; 20.01≤F≤43.96, p<0.001), except for generic HRQoL at 12 months, where sex was the strongest predictor (R²=0.14; F=17.97, p<0.001).

Conclusion: Generic and specific HRQoL in chronic individuals six and 12 months after stroke, from a middle-income country, can be predicted based on functional independence, the strongest predictor, assessed in the acute phase, except for generic HRQoL at 12 months. Functional independence can be modified by rehabilitation strategies and thus should be considered for HRQoL prognoses at chronic phase.

Keywords: Chronic phase; Functional independence; Health-related quality of life; Predictors; Stroke.