Association between socioeconomic status and post-stroke functional outcome in deprived rural southern China: a population-based study

BACKGROUND Data on the association between socioeconomic status and post-stroke functional outcome in developing countries is lacking. We aimed to evaluate the association in stroke survivors in deprived rural Southern China. METHODS We conducted door-to-door interviews and collected data using a structured questionnaire in stroke survivors from five fourth-class rural areas of Guangdong Province through a non-government initiated registry from August 2014 to March 2015. Descriptive statistics were used to provide information on the demographic, socioeconomic and clinical characteristics of the selected population. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to examine the relationship of socioeconomic status indexed by self-reported average family income and functional impairment defined as a modified Rankin Scale of 3 to 5. RESULTS Among the 425 stroke survivors, 52.7% lived below the poverty line set by the local government. About 50% of patients suffered from functional impairment and required assistance in their daily life. Compared with their wealthier counterpart, stroke survivors with lower income were more likely to have functional impairment (OR 2.85, 95% CI 1.93-4.23). The effect size increased and remained significant after adjusting for possible confounding factors (OR 3.17, 95% CI 2.04-4.91). CONCLUSIONS Poorer patients tend to have poorer post-stroke functional outcome. Primary and secondary strategies targeting underprivileged populations in less-developed areas are thus urgently needed in China.