Abstract TP183: Burden of Disability Among Stroke Survivors in the United States Between 2005 and 2017

Aims: The aims of the present study are to assess burden of disability among stroke survivors: 1) in women compared to men; 2) by age group; 3) race &4) study period. Methods: We used the clinical variables collected in the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) Uniform Data sets downloaded in February 2018. Thirty-four National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded Alzheimer’s Disease centers contributed to the data. Visits conducted between 2005 and 2017 were included. Self-reported and clinician-based disabilities were assessed in women and men, and by age-groups, race and study period. Results: Over the study period, there were a total of 9,957 observations among 2,769 stroke survivors. Women represented 54% with a mean year of birth=1930 (SD=9). Compared to men, women had less years of education (14% vs 16% years), were less often married (32% vs 75%). In terms of medical history, women stroke survivors were less likely to have history of atrial fibrillation (12% vs 14%), angioplasty (2% vs 5%), transient ischemic attack (5% vs 6%), Parkinson disease (1% vs 2%), seizures (2% vs 3%), hypercholesterolemia (61 vs 66), or vitamin b12 deficiency (6 vs 7). But more likely to have history of heart failure (6 vs 5), hypertension (72 vs 68), and thyroid disease (27 vs 12). In terms of self-reported disability, women were less likely to report vision impairment (25 vs 26), using vision correction (70 vs 71), hearing aid (15 vs 23), memory complaints (21 vs 25), judgment (20 vs 23), personal care (8 vs 9), motor disability (11 vs 13) or appetite changes (16 vs 21). In terms of clinician-based judgment of motor and memory disability, women were less likely to have gait disorders (25 vs 32), tremors (9 vs 15), slowness in movement (23 vs 28), memory decline (64 vs 74), cognitive memory (62 vs 72), judgment impairment (51 vs 59), language disability (37 vs 40), attention (32 vs 37) or cognitive fluctuation (5 vs 9). Conclusion: In a representative sample of stroke survivors, women showed a significantly lower burden of disability following stroke diagnosis indicating a better quality of life and better prognosis. Further investigations will be conducted to assess patterns of disability by age groups, race and study period.