Timed up-and-go performance is associated with objectively measured life space in patients 3 months after ischemic stroke: a cross-sectional observational study

• Published in: Journal of neurology 2023-04, Vol.270 (4), p.1999-2009
• Main Authors: Rössler, Roland, Rommers, Nikki, Kim, Eun-Kyeong, Iendra, Laura, Sofios, Alexander, Giannouli, Eleftheria, Portegijs, Erja, Rantanen, Taina, Infanger, Denis, Bridenbaugh, Stephanie, Engelter, Stefan T., Schmidt-Trucksäss, Arno, Weibel, Robert, Peters, Nils, Hinrichs, Timo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Ischemia; Ischemic Stroke; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mobility; Neurology; Neuroradiology; Neurosciences; Observational studies; Original Communication; Prospective Studies; Regression analysis; Self Report; Stroke
• ISSN: 0340-5354; 1432-1459
• DOI: 10.1007/s00415-022-11524-x

Background Stroke is a common cause of mobility limitation, including a reduction in life space. Life space is defined as the spatial extent in which a person moves within a specified period of time. We aimed to analyze patients’ objective and self-reported life space and clinical stroke characteristics. Methods MOBITEC-Stroke is a prospective observational cohort study addressing poststroke mobility. This cross-sectional analysis refers to 3-month data. Life space was assessed by a portable tracking device (7 consecutive days) and by self-report (Life-Space Assessment; LSA). We analysed the timed up-and-go (TUG) test, stroke severity (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; NIHSS), and the level of functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale; mRS) in relation to participants’ objective (distance- and area-related life-space parameters) and self-reported (LSA) life space by multivariable linear regression analyses, adjusted for age, sex, and residential area. Results We included 41 patients, mean age 70.7 (SD11.0) years, 29.3% female, NIHSS score 1.76 (SD1.68). We found a positive relationship between TUG performance and maximum distance from home ( p  = 0.006), convex hull area (i.e. area enclosing all Global Navigation Satellite System [GNSS] fixes, represented as a polygon linking the outermost points; p  = 0.009), perimeter of the convex hull area (i.e. total length of the boundary of the convex hull area; p  = 0.008), as well as the standard ellipse area (i.e. the two-dimensional ellipse containing approximately 63% of GNSS points; p  = 0.023), in multivariable regression analyses. Conclusion The TUG, an easily applicable bedside test, seems to be a useful indicator for patients’ life space 3 months poststroke and may be a clinically useful measure to document the motor rehabilitative process.