Impact of Sensory Impairment on Improvement of Upper-limb Function in Patients under 75 Years of Age with Subacute Stroke: A Preliminary Study

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate whether an interaction exists between sensory impairment and age with respect to the recovery of upper-limb function in patients with subacute stroke. METHODS: This retrospective observational study included 83 patients recovering from subacute stroke in a rehabilitation hospital ward. The recovery of upper-limb function in four groups classified by age and sensory impairment were compared using analysis of covariance. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis was performed with recovery of upper-limb function as the dependent variable and with binarized sensory impairment and binarized age and their interaction term as the independent variables. RESULTS: The estimated marginal means of upper-limb recovery were significantly higher in the non-late elderly (≤74 years) without sensory impairment group than in the other three groups. No significant differences were observed among the following three groups: the non-late elderly with sensory impairment, the late elderly (≥75 years) without sensory impairment, and the late elderly with sensory impairment. In multiple regression analysis, the interaction term between sensory impairment and age was significantly associated with improvement in upper-limb function (β=0.16, P <0.05). Age alone was significant, but sensory impairment alone was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Sensory impairment in patients with subacute stroke affects the recovery of upper-limb function as a result of age interactions.