Ethnic Differences in Poststroke Quality of Life in the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) Project.

Abstract

Mexican Americans (MAs) have an increased risk of stroke and experience worse poststroke disability than non-Hispanic whites, which may translate into worse poststroke quality of life (QOL). We assessed ethnic differences in poststroke QOL, as well as potential modification of associations by age, sex, and initial stroke severity. Ischemic stroke survivors were identified through the biethnic, population-based Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) Project. Data were collected from medical records, baseline interviews, and 90-day poststroke interviews. Poststroke QOL was measured at ≈90 days by the validated short-form stroke-specific QOL in 3 domains: overall, physical, and psychosocial (range, 0-5; higher scores represent better QOL). Tobit regression was used to model associations between ethnicity and poststroke QOL scores, adjusted for demographics, clinical characteristics, and prestroke cognition and function. Among 290 eligible stroke survivors (66% MA, 34% non-Hispanic whites, median age=69 years), median scores for overall, physical, and psychosocial poststroke QOL were 3.3, 3.8, and 2.7, respectively. Poststroke QOL was lower for MAs than non-Hispanic whites both overall (mean difference, -0.30; 95% confidence interval, -0.59, -0.01) and in the physical domain (mean difference, -0.47; 95% confidence interval, -0.81, -0.14) after multivariable adjustment. No ethnic difference was found in the psychosocial domain. Age modified the associations between ethnicity and poststroke QOL such that differences were present in older but not in younger ages. Disparities exist in poststroke QOL for MAs and seem to be driven by differences in older stroke patients. Targeted interventions to improve outcomes among MA stroke survivors are urgently needed.