Follow-up analysis of the motor function of post-stroke individuals

Abstract

The aim of this study was to characterize and analyze changes in the variables related to the motor function of chronic hemiparetic patients after a period of seven years. The demographic and clinical data of the participants, who were initially assessed in 2003, were collected by telephone. All individuals were invited to participate in the reassessments, which included data related to respiratory strength, functional performance, physical ability, and physical activity levels. Descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon or paired t-tests were used for analyses. Out of the 101 hemiparetic partcipants, who were initially assessed in 2003, 65 subjects or their relatives were contacted by telephone; 35 (64.5±10.6 years) answered the questions by telephone, 8 passed away, and 22 (56.8±13.3 years) were physically assessed. After a mean follow up of seven years, none of the physically assessed variables showed significant differences between the two assessments (0.08