Chronic Hemiparetic Subjects with Higher Physical Activity Levels Report Better Quality of Life

Abstract

© 2015, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo. All rights reserved. Objective. To compare the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of chronic stroke with various levels of physical activity. Method. Physical activity was assessed by the Human Activity Profile (HAP), and subjects were stratified into three groups: active, moderately active and inactive. HRQoL was assessed by the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). ANOVA with post-hoc LSD was used to compare the HRQoL life among the three groups. Results. Ninety-eight chronic stroke were included (54% men), 56±12 years old and 64±53 months post-stroke. Twenty-six were classified as inactive, 55 as moderately active and 17 as active. A significant difference was observed in HRQoL between the three groups of physical activity (F =17.8 , p < 0.01), with active groups showing better perceived HRQoL. A significant difference between the three categories of physical activity levels for all domains of HRQOL were observed: energy level (F=4.21, p=0.02), pain (F=9.13, p < 0,01), emotional reactions (F=5.51, p < 0.01), sleep quality (F=3.21, p=0.04), social interaction (F=4.42 , p=0.01) and physical skills (F=36.97, p < 0.01). Conclusions. Active chronic stroke showed better perceived HRQoL, and thus the level of physical activity should be considered in approaches that aims to improve HRQOL in this population.