A retrospective study on return to living alone of stroke patients who were living alone before stroke

[Purpose] To identify factors that affect the return to solitary living of patients with stroke who had lived alone prior to stroke onset. [Participants and Methods] From January 2017 to March 2020, we enrolled a total of 103 patients with stroke who had lived alone prior to stroke onset and retrospectively analyzed their age, gender, length of hospital stay, outcome (return to living alone or not), functional independence measure at discharge, and social score at discharge. We also analyzed the relationship between the above factors and the outcome. [Results] Functional independence measure and social score at discharge were significantly associated with the outcome. The cutoff value of the functional independence measure at discharge was 91 (area under the curve: 0.91; sensitivity: 0.96; specificity: 0.72), while the rate of return to living alone was 23.5% when the social score was ≥3. The sensitivity and specificity for return to living alone were 0.91 and 0.88, respectively, when cutoff values of the functional independence measure and social score at discharge were 91 and 3, respectively. [Conclusion] Social factors and ability to perform activities of daily living are important for return to solitary living for patients with stroke who lived alone prior to stroke onset.