QoL is lower in female survivors of stroke even after adjustment for prognostic factors
Original article
Gray LJ et al. (2007) Sex differences in quality of life in stroke survivors: data from the Tinzaparin in Acute Ischaemic Stroke Trial (TAIST). Stroke 38: 2960–2964 PubMed
Female survivors of stroke have been shown to have a worse outcome and poorer quality of life (QoL) than male survivors, even after adjustment for prognostic factors. Gray et al. used data from the Tinzaparin in Acute Ischaemic Stroke Trial (TAIST), which enrolled 1,484 patients within 48 h of stroke onset, to further determine the relationship between sex and QoL following stroke.
QoL was measured in 1,268 patients (45% female) at 180 days after treatment randomization, using the Short Form-36 health survey. The mean age of female patients was significantly greater than that of male patients (73.4 years vs 68.4 years; P <0.0001). In addition, female patients were more likely to have atrial fibrillation, to have a lower premorbid functional status (as measured by the modified Rankin Scale [mRS]), and to be in a nursing home, than were male patients.
Overall, QoL scores for female patients were markedly lower than those for male patients; female patients scored particularly poorly on the domains relating to physical functioning, vitality and mental health. Even following adjustment for age, baseline systolic blood pressure, Scandinavian Stroke Scale score, history of myocardial infarction, stroke type, premorbid mRS score, premorbid residency (home/nursing home), and treatment group, female patients had considerably lower scores for physical functioning and mental health than did male patients. Notably, lower scores on the physical functioning and mental health QoL domains were associated with poor functional outcome at 6 months, as assessed by the mRS (P <0.0001 for both).
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Subject areas under which this article appears: Stroke
