The Effects of Dysphagia on Quality of Life in Stroke Survivors

Background: Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a common problem in stroke survivors. Dysphagia and its complications have negative effects on quality of life in stroke survivors. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the impacts of dysphagia on quality of life in Iranian stroke survivors and to determine potential relationships between demographic variables and the domains of quality of life. Methods: Sixty stroke survivors (aged 60 - 75 years old) with a diagnosis of dysphagia participated in this cross-sectional study. The swallowing function of patients was evaluated by Mann Assessment Swallowing Ability (MASA). The Persian version of the Dysphagia Handicap Index (DHI) was used to determine the impacts of swallowing disorder on the quality of life. Results: The mean total and SD of DHI was 73.03 ± 10.16. There was no statistically significant relationship between sex; age, time post-onset of stroke, and DHI total score as well as its subscales (P > 0.05), whereas there was a relationship between the functional subscale of the DHI and the level of education (r = 0.27, P = 0.037) and also with severity of dysphagia on the base of MASA scores (r = 0.267, P = 0.039). Besides, the severity of dysphagia was positively correlated with DHI’s total scores (r = 0.312, P = 0.017); this means that the higher the severity of dysphagia, resulting in even greater the DHI total scores, which indicates a further reduction in the patient’s quality of life. Conclusions: Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that dysphagia in stroke survivors has negative impacts on the quality of life. The relationship between clinical measures of dysphagia severity and quality of life also indicates that the higher the dysphagia severity the lower the quality of life. Dysphagia’s negative impact on the quality of life does not depend on age and gender.