Significance of Aphasia after First-Ever Acute Stroke: Impact on Early and Late Outcomes

Background: We assessed the incidence and determinants of aphasia attributable to first-ever acute stroke. We also investigated early and long-term mortality and 1-year dependence in post-stroke patients. Methods: A 10-year prospective hospital-based study was conducted in the prefecture of Athens, Greece. Results: In total, 2,297 patients were included in the study, of whom 806 (35.1%) had aphasia. The presence of aphasia was independently associated with increasing age (OR: 1.19 per 10-year increase, 95% CI: 1.12–1.21) and atrial fibrillation (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.08–1.67), and inversely associated with Scandinavian Stroke Scale (SSS) score (OR: 0.55 per 10-point increase, 95% CI: 0.52–0.59) and hypertension (OR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.63–0.96). One-year dependence score (calculated with the modified Rankin score) was higher in aphasic patients compared to non-aphasics (p < 0.001). Moreover, severity of aphasia (estimated with a subscale of SSS) was found as an independent predictor of 1-year dependence. Most of the deaths in the aphasic patients were attributed to infections and neurological damage. Using the Kaplan-Meier limit method, the unadjusted probability of 10-year mortality was demonstrated to increase with the severity of aphasia (log-rank test: 233.9, p < 0.001) and, even after adjustment for several other factors, severity of aphasia remained an independent predictor of 10-year mortality. Conclusions: Increasing age, atrial fibrillation and severity of stroke were associated with the risk of aphasia after stroke. Severity of aphasia is a strong predictor of long-term mortality and dependence of post-stroke patients.