The impact of post-stroke fatigue on work and other everyday life activities for the working age population – a registry-based cohort study

Figures & data

Figure 1. Flowchart of the study population.

Table 1. Respondents’ characteristics and differences in functioning in everyday activities in relation to experiencing or not experiencing post-stroke fatigue at 3- and 12-months.

	3 months				12 months
	Total	Having PSF	Not having PSF	p	Total	Having PSF	Not having PSF	p
Total, n	2850	1107 (43)	1470 (57)			1345 (48)	1478 (52)
Sex, n (%)
Men	1846 (65)	602 (36)	1051 (64)	<0.001^a		765 (42)	1065 (58)	<0.001^a
Women	1004 (35)	505 (55)	419 (45)			580 (58)	413 (42)
Age onset of stroke, (years) (mean + SD)	53.8 + 8.5	53.2 + 8.8	54.4 + 8.1	<0.001^b		53.3 + 8.8	54.3 + 8.1	0.003^b
Men	54.5 + 7.8	54.2 + 8.0	54.8 + 7.6	0.149^b		54.2 + 8.2	54.7 + 7.5	0.189^b
Women	52.6 + 9.4	51.9 + 9.4	53.5 + 9.1	0.007^b		52.1 + 9.4	53.1 + 9.3	0.117^b
Diagnosis, n (%)
Ischemic stroke	2465 (86)	959 (87)	1288 (88)	0.598^a		1159 (87)	1281 (87)	0.821^a
Cerebral hemorrhage	376 (13)	142 (13)	179 (12)			180 (13)	194 (13)
Hospital length of stay, (days per patient) (mean + SD)	8.6 + 13	8.9 + 13.3	7.4 + 10.7	<0.001^b		9.6 + 14.5	7.7 + 11.3	<0.001^b
Mobility, n (%)
Independent	2352 (92)	967 (88)	1385 (95)	<0.001^a	2596 (93)	1180 (89)	1416 (97)	<0.001^a
Dependent	213 (8)	136 (12)	77 (5)		200 (7)	151 (11)	49 (3)
Toilet visits, n (%)
Independent	2469 (96)	1035 (94)	1434 (98)	<0.001^a	2719 (97)	1269 (95)	1450 (99)	<0.001^a
Dependent	101 (4)	69 (6)	32 (2)		85 (3)	67 (5)	18 (1)
Dressing, n (%)
Independent	2474 (94)	1018 (92)	1418 (97)	<0.001^a	2676 (95)	1239 (93)	1437 (98)	<0.001^a
Dependent	149 (6)	85 (8)	51 (3)		132 (5)	98 (7)	34 (2)
Care of household, n (%)
Independent	1990 (79)	722 (69)	1243 (88)	<0.001^a	2248 (82)	926 (73)	1305 (91)	<0.001^a
Dependent	521 (21)	329 (31)	175 (12)		487 (18)	350 (27)	131 (9)
Return to work, n (%)
Yes, same					1279 (45)	362 (27)	908 (61)	<0.001^c
Yes, less					685 (24)	423 (31)	260 (18)
No					886 (31)	560 (42)	310 (21)
Returned to life and activities, n (%)
Yes	788 (31)	133 (12)	645 (44)	<0.001^c	987 (35)	189 (14)	790 (54)	<0.001^c
Yes, but not quite as before	962 (37)	433 (40)	520 (36)		1175 (42)	662 (50)	504 (34)
No	835 (32)	528 (48)	285 (20)		653 (23)	477 (36)	168 (12)
Depressed mood, n (%)
Yes, depressed mood	316 (12)	263 (24)	50 (3)	<0.001^a	454 (16)	387 (29)	58 (4)	<0.001^a
No, depressed mood	2231 (88)	825 (76)	1384 (97)		2350 (84)	935 (71)	1401 (96)

Note:

^a) Chi² was applied, α = 0.05.

^b) Independent t-test (two-sided p) was applied, α = 0.05.

c) The Mann Whitney U was applied, α = 0.05.

Table 2. Differences in age and sex between the four groups created to describe the development of PSF between 3- and 12-months

	Absence of PSF (No PSF at 3 or 12 months)	Recovered PSF (PSF at 3 months and no PSF at 12 months)	Late onset of PSF (No PSF at 3 months and PSF at 12 months)	Persistent PSF (PSF at 3 and 12 months)	p
Total, n (%)	1100 (43)	252 (10)	361 (14)	841 (33)
Age, mean + SD	54.7 + 7.8	52.8 + 8.5	53.5 + 8.7	53.2 + 8.8	<0.001^a
Age, min – max	18–63	21–63	22–63	19–63
Women, n (%)	291 (32)	92 (10)	126 (14)	405 (44)	<0.001^b
Men, n (%)	809 (49)	160 (10)	235 (14)	436 (27)

Note:

^a) One way Anova Test was applied, α = 0.05.

^b) Chi² was applied, α = 0.05.

Table 3. Comparison between the different groups describing the development of PSF between 3- and 12-months regarding dependence in everyday life activities at 12-months.

	Dependent on help with mobility %	p	Dependent on help with toilet visits %	p	Dependent on help with dressing %	p	Dependent on help with care of household %	p	Not returned to work %	p	Not returned to life/activities %	p
Absence of PSF	2	<0.01	0.5	0.01	1	0.10	7	0.04	33	<0.01	42	<0.01
Recovered PSF	6		2		4		12		55		61
Absence of PSF	2	<0.01	0.5	<0.01	1	0.02	7	<0.01	33	<0.01	42	<0.01
Late onset of PSF	9		3		4		20		63		80
Absence of PSF	2	<0.01	0.5	<0.01	1	<0.01	7	<0.01	33	<0.01	42	<0.01
Persistent PSF	11		5		7		29		77		88
Recovered PSF	6	0.74	2	5.66	4	5.06	12	0.11	55	0.39	61	<0.01
Late onset of PSF	9		3		4		20		63		80
Recovered PSF	6	0.08	2	0.70	4	0.29	12	<0.01	55	<0.01	61	<0.01
Persistent PSF	11		5		7		29		77		88
Late onset of PSF	9	1.93	3	0.47	4	0.23	20	<0.01	63	<0.01	80	<0.01
Persistent PSF	11		5		7		29		77		88

Note: Chi² was applied when comparing the groups, α = 0.05. Significance values has been adjusted by the Bonferroni correction for multiple tests.

Table 4. Lack of post-stroke fatigue and prediction of positive functioning in everyday life activities one year after stroke.

Independence in activities	OR	Adjusted OR	95 % CI for adjusted OR	p
Mobility	3.698	2.359	1.639−3.394	<0.001
Dressing	0.299	0.527	0.337−0.825	0.005
Toilet visits	0.235	0.413	0.231−0.740	0.003
Care of household	3.765	2.854	2.255−3.611	<0.001
Return to work	4.326	3.687	3.108−4.372	<0.001
Return to life/activities	7.085	5.748	4.731−6.984	<0.001

Note: Logistic regression with PSF as independent factor. OR is describing the chance of independence in everyday life activities. Tested and adjusted for sex, age and depression as potential confounders.

Data availability statement

The released dataset can only be used for purposes that have been applied and approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority. The Swedish Stroke Register (Riksstroke) is not publicly available but can be made available upon reasonable application to registry managers.