Health-Related Quality of Life in Young Adults Following Pediatric Arterial Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose-Pediatric arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) is a rare disease leading to long-lasting neurological sequelae. Little is known about the long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of these patients. The study aims to compare HRQoL in young adults who have had pediatric AIS with a healthy control group. Methods-A cross-sectional study compared self-rated HRQoL, depression, fatigability, and behavior in pediatric stroke survivors to healthy controls. Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of pediatric AIS who were >= 18 years at the time of recruitment and >= 2 years after acute AIS, as well as healthy controls >= 18 years matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status were included. Primary outcome was HRQoL measured with the Short Form Health Survey. Results-Thirty-three patients (median [interquartile range] aged 22 years [20-26]; 22 males, 67%) and 71 controls (median [interquartile range] aged 23 years [21-25]; 41 males, 58%) were included. Overall, HRQoL, depression, or fatigability did not differ between the patients and the control group. Patients rated themselves lower on the disinhibition scale (P=0.049) and tended to rate themselves lower on the executive dysfunction scale (P=0.076). Patients with a poor outcome 24 months after AIS showed a clear trend toward impairment of executive functioning (P=0.056) and work/productivity in the stroke-specific QoL (P=0.05). Conclusions-Self-rated HRQoL, depression, and fatigability in adult pediatric stroke survivors are comparable to healthy adult peers. A poor outcome 24 months after acute stroke might affect work performance and executive functioning in adulthood.