Objective To explore prevalence and risk factors of disability among stroke patients in rural areas of Liaoning province and to provide evidences for reducing the incidence of disability after stroke.
Methods Using stratified cluster random sampling, we conducted a survey in 19 administrative villages of 4 counties in different geographical regions across Liaoning province from September 2017 to May 2018. Among the identified 731 stroke patients aged 40 years, we carried out questionnaire interview, physical examination and laboratory test and disability status of the patients was assessed with modified Rankin scale (mRS).
Results The prevalence rate of disability was 13.41% for all the patients and the rate was 11.96% and 21.86% for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients. Among the male patients, the prevalence rate of disability rate of the male ischemic stroke increased with the increment of age and the average score of mRS of the male ischemic stroke patients was higher than that of the female patients. Aging and gender were main risk factors for post-stroke disability for the patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed following significant impact factors of disability of the stroke patients: male gender (odds ratio OR = 1.90, 95% confidence interval 95% CI: 1.18 – 3.05), high average annual family income (OR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.18 – 0.83), overweight or obesity (OR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.30 – 0.73), and smoking (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.24 – 0.80).
Conclusion The prevalence of disability is high among stroke patients aged 40 years and over in rural areas of Liaoning province, suggesting that effective and specific intervention measures need to be implemented urgently among the patients.
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