Life Expectancy after Stroke Based On Age, Sex, and Rankin Grade of Disability: A Synthesis

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in the developed world. The major factor affecting long term survival (other than age) is known to be the severity of disability. Yet to our knowledge there are no studies reporting life expectancies stratified by both age and severity. Remaining life expectancy is a key measure of health. Methods: We identified 11 long-term follow-up studies of stroke patients that reported the multivariate effects of age, sex, the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) grade of disability, and other factors. From these we computed the composite effects of these factors on survival, then used these to calculate age-, sex-, and mRS-specific mortality rates. Finally we used the rates to construct life tables, and hence obtain life expectancies. Results: Life expectancy varies by age, sex, and mRS. The life expectancies of males age 70, for example, were 13, 13, 11, 8, 6, and 5 years for Rankin Grades 0-5, respectively, representing reductions of 1, 1, 3, 6, 8, and 9 years from the corresponding general population figure. Conclusions: These figures demonstrate the importance of rehabilitation following stroke, and can be used in discussion of public policy and benchmarking of future results.