ArticleBMJ neurology open2026
Age-specific and time-dependent trends in health-related quality of life after minor stroke: results of a cross-sectional cohort study.
Article in BMJ neurology open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Early identification of factors influencing long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after stroke is essential for individualising poststroke support. While different patient characteristics have been shown to be associated with HRQoL, few studies have investigated how these associations evolve over time. The interaction between baseline characteristics at time of stroke and the elapsed time since stroke may reveal divergent recovery trajectories that remain obscured when conditions are assessed without consideration of temporal trends. Methods: This cross-sectional single-centre cohort study analysed data from 47 patients with minor ischaemic stroke, drawn from a local aftercare programme. HRQoL was assessed using the EQ-5D-5L index value once within a period of up to 3 years after stroke. Patient characteristics at hospital admission (ie, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, modified Rankin Scale, age, sex and recanalisation therapy) were tested for associations with HRQoL using Spearman's rank correlation and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Variables significantly associated with HRQoL were entered into multivariate linear regression (MLR), adjusted for time since stroke. Interaction terms were tested to evaluate whether the effect of baseline characteristics varied by time since stroke. Results: Only age at time of stroke showed a significant association with EQ-5D-5L index values. The final MLR model included quadratic age terms and their interaction with time since stroke, explaining 29% of the variance in HRQoL (p<0.001). Based on this model, younger age is associated with increasing HRQoL from stroke onward, whereas older age is associated with decreasing HRQoL. Conclusions: This study indicates that age and time since stroke jointly influence long-term HRQoL after minor stroke. Our findings guide the hypothesis that older individuals may predominantly face progressive HRQoL deterioration after stroke, while younger patients show marked recovery potential. Tailoring aftercare strategies to age-specific recovery profiles could improve the long-term support and outcomes after stroke. Trial registration number: DRKS00031333.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.