Abstract
In order to study the effect of age on the stability of functional improvement following stroke rehabilitation, seventy-one randomly selected patients with ischemic stroke without functionally limiting co-morbid medical problems were folloived for two years. Patients were divided into two groups: age ≤ 69 (n = 32, X = 60 ± 6.5 years) and age ≥ 70 (N = 39, X = 77 ± 6 years). Barthel Index (BI) scores were generated for patients on admission and discharge from the inpatient rehabilitation unit and at six, twelve, and twenty-four months thereafter. Intercurrent medical and neurologic illnesses and changes in discharge placement were recorded. There was no difference in sex ratio, interval since stroke, hemisphere involved, or mean rehabilitation hospital admission and discharge BI scores for the younger vs. older patient groups. Life Table Analysis showed no significant difference in BI scores for the two groups over the twenty-four-month follow-up interval. This was true for both groups as a whole and for subgroups matched for extent of neurologic impairment. The frequency of new or progressive disease affecting function was the same for younger (16/32) as for older (20/39) patient groups. Death and skilled nursing facility (SNF) placement during the follow-up interval were more frequent for older vs. younger patients. These data indicate that in the absence of functionally limiting co-morbid medical problems, age is related to death and SNF placement but has no clinically significant effect on maintenance of rehabilitation gains following ischemic stroke.