Quality of life after stroke in Benin.

OBJECTIVE: Stroke is a leading cause of adult long-term disability. The functional outcomes have been much studied but the impact on quality of life (QOL) is little known especially in African countries. The concept of QOL is complex. It is defined as an individual's perceptions of their position in life in context of culture, value system, goals, expectations, standards, and concerns. The aim of the present study is to evaluate impact of stroke on the quality of life of beninese patients.

MATERIAL/PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study. One hundred and seventy-one chronic stroke were recruited. The sociodemographic and clinical characteristics data were recorded. The QOL was measuring using the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-Bref) which has four domains related to physical factors, psychological factors, social relationships and environmental factors.

RESULTS: The mean age was 54.68±9.49 years. The overall quality of life was unsatisfactory in 40% of patients, mixed in 52% of patients, and satisfactory in 8%. Severe depression was found in 8.77% of patients, moderate in 46.20% and absent in 45.03%. The health status of patients was described as unsatisfactory in 48% of patients, mixed in 49.70% of patients and satisfactory in 2.30% of patients. The overall quality of life was affected by depression level of our patients (P=0.02), the time since stroke (P=0.03), the functional independence measure (P=0.01) and occupational status (P=0.01).

DISCUSSION - CONCLUSION: The quality of life is a concept that aims to integrate the subjective aspects and thus broaden the appreciation of health. Similarly, results were found by Laurent K. et al and Bo Jeong et al. It is therefore important to measure QOL of patients.