Relationship Between Body Mass Index and Rehabilitation Outcomes in Subacute Stroke with Dysphagia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and rehabilitation outcome in hemiparetic patients with stroke in subacute phase.

DESIGN: This was a prospective study testing the correlation between BMI and the effectiveness of rehabilitation, measured using Barthel Index (BI) scores. We enrolled patients with subacute stroke (n=664, age 68±14 years, length of hospital stay 84±34 days). We assessed the BMI and BI both at admission and discharge. The effectiveness of rehabilitation was computed as the percentage increment in BI score with respect to the maximum achievable improvement.

RESULTS: Effectiveness of rehabilitation was significantly correlated with the BMI at discharge (R=0.111, p=0.004) and percentage change in BMI (R=0.253, p<0.001), but not with BMI at admission (R=0.006, p=0.869).

CONCLUSIONS: In addition to BMI value, our findings suggest that rehabilitation outcomes can be influenced by the change in BMI during rehabilitation.