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Table 2 Demographics, clinical characteristics and health-related quality of life of the stroke survivors with PSF (individual interview participants)

From: Post-stroke fatigue: an exploratory study with patients and health professionals to develop a patient-reported outcome measure

Stroke Survivor Characteristics

n

Median (range)

Time since stroke, in months

 

21 (3–24)

 3–8 months

4

 

 20–24 months

5

 

Age in yearsa

9

59 (23–80)

Gender

 Male (female)

4 (5)

 

Living arrangements

 Living with a partner

6

 

 Living with children or other family member

2

 

 Living alone

1

 

Residence

 Urban area

5

 

 Rural area

4

 

Education

 Upper secondary education

3

 

 Higher education < 4 years

3

 

 Higher education ≥ 4 years

3

 

Work status

Pre-stroke

  Full time work/studies (100%)

5

 

  Retired

4

 

Post-stroke

  Disability leave (100%)

2

 

  Partial sick leave (50% – 70%)

3

 

  Retired

4

 

ICD-10 Classificationb

 Non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (I61)

3

 

 Cerebral infarction (I63)

6

 

Degree of disability at stroke onset (mRS)c

 Moderate severe disability (mRS 4)

1

 

 Moderate disability (mRS 3)

1

 

 Slight disability (mRS 2)

5

 

 No significant disability (mRS 1)

2

 

Communication disorder at stroke onsetd

 Aphasia (self-reported)

4

 

 Normal speech

5

 

Living situation (at the time of the interview)

 Dependent living (assistance provided)

1

 

 Independent living (no assistance provided)

8

 

Rehabilitation services (at the time of the interview)e

 Physiotherapy (weekly)

3

 

 None

6

 

Fatigue (FSS7)f

 

6.4 (4.7–7)

 Severe fatigue (FSS ≥ 5)

7

 

 Moderate fatigue (FSS = 4–4.9)

2

 

Depression and anxiety (HADS total score)g

 

20 (9–23)

 Likely case of depression and/or anxiety (HADS ≥19)

5

 

 Possible case of depression and/or anxiety (HADS 15–18)

2

 

 Normal symptoms of depression and anxiety (HADS < 15)

2

 

MoCAh

 

26 (22–29)

 Mild cognitive impairment (MoCA 18–25)

4

 

 No cognitive impairment (MoCA ≥26)

5

 

Self-reported health EQ-VASi

9

40 (30–80)

  1. a The individual ages of the participants were: 23-54 - 54 - 55 - 59 - 74 - 76 - 79 - 80
  2. b The ICD-10 classification is based on the participants retrospective self-report (n = 5) or collected from their medical record (n = 4)
  3. c MRS Modified Rankin Scale measures the degree of stroke impairment or dependence in daily activities. Scores can range from no symptoms (0) to death (6). MRS in this study was rated by IJS, based on retrospective self-report (n = 5) or medical records (n = 4) [28]
  4. d Communication disorder at stroke onset was based on self-report. None of the participants had significant aphasia at the time of the interview
  5. e None of the participants received any other rehabilitation services at the time of the interview such as occupational therapy, speech-language therapy etc.
  6. f FSS7 Fatigue Severity Scale 7-item version is scored on a 7-point scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7). An individual mean score of ≥5 indicates severe fatigue, score 4–4.9 indicates moderate fatigue, and score < 4 indicates no/mild fatigue [29]
  7. g HADS Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale is a screening instrument developed to identify depression and anxiety in medical patients. HADS total score ≥ 19 indicates a case of depression and anxiety, a score between 15 and 18 indicates a possible case, and scores below 15 indicates no symptoms of depression or anxiety [30, 31]
  8. h MoCA Montreal Cognitive Assessment is a screening instrument developed to detect mild cognitive impairment. Scores over 25 indicate normal cognition and scores between 18 and 25 indicate mild cognitive impairment [32]. In stroke patients, normal scores range 20–27 during the chronic post-stroke phase [39]
  9. i EQ-VAS assesses overall health-related quality of life, ranging from worst possible (0) to best possible (100) health [33]. Mean EQ-VAS score in a Norwegian general population sample is 77.9 (SD = 19.5) [34]