Table 1. Baseline Demographic Characteristics of the Study Population and by the Trajectory Group.
| Characteristic | No. (%) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline study population (n = 1497)a | All participants (n = 1367) | Longitudinal sample (n = 1367) | |||
| Increaser group (n = 720)b | Decreaser group (n = 647)c | P valued | |||
| Age, median (IQR), y | 73 (65-79) | 72 (65-79) | 70 (62-76) | 74 (68-80) | <.001 |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 922 (62) | 844 (62) | 492 (68) | 352 (54) | <.001 |
| Female | 575 (39) | 523 (38) | 228 (32) | 295 (46) | |
| Stroke type | |||||
| Ischemic | 1312 (88) | 1198 (87) | 621 (86) | 577 (89) | .10 |
| Hemorrhagic | 185 (12) | 169 (12) | 99 (14) | 70 (11) | |
| OCSP classificatione | |||||
| TACS | 364 (24) | 334 (24) | 166 (27) | 168 (29) | .34 |
| PACS | 594 (40) | 542 (40) | 283 (46) | 259 (45) | |
| LACS | 203 (14) | 184 (14) | 98 (16) | 86 (15) | |
| POCS | 126 (8) | 114 (8) | 60 (10) | 54 (9) | |
| Unclear | 25 (2) | 24 (2) | 14 (2) | 10 (2) | |
| Living arrangementsf | |||||
| Living alone | 548 (37) | 491 (36) | 238 (33) | 253 (39) | .02 |
| Living with someone | 949 (63) | 846 (64) | 482 (67) | 394 (61) | |
| Employment status | <.001 | ||||
| Full-time | 312 (21) | 300 (22) | 208 (29) | 92 (14) | |
| Retired | 1079 (72) | 968 (71) | 453 (63) | 515 (80) | |
| Othersg | 106 (7) | 99 (7) | 59 (8) | 40 (6) | |
| Educational levelh | |||||
| ≤12 y | 769 (51) | 695 (51) | 395 (55) | 300 (46) | .002 |
| >12 y | 728 (49) | 672 (49) | 325 (45) | 347 (54) | |
| NIHSS score, median (IQR) | 3 (2-6) | 3 (2-6) | 3 (2-6) | 3 (2-6) | .35 |
| 0-3: Very mild stroke | 536 (36) | 491 (36) | 262 (36) | 229 (35) | |
| 4-5: Mild stroke | 525 (35) | 472 (35) | 256 (36) | 216 (33) | |
| ≥6: Moderate to severe stroke | 436 (29) | 404 (29) | 202 (28) | 202 (31) | |
| Cognitioni | |||||
| Normal | 615 (41) | 571 (42) | 355 (49) | 216 (33) | <.001 |
| Impaired | 635 (42) | 588 (43) | 270 (38) | 318 (49) | |
| Unclear | 247 (17) | 208 (15) | 95 (13) | 113 (18) | |
| Aphasia | 267 (18) | 239 (18) | 119 (17) | 120 (19) | .33 |
| Able to lift both arms off beds | 1171 (78) | 1069 (78) | 563 (78) | 506 (78) | .99 |
| Able to walk unaided | 787 (53) | 723 (53) | 405 (56) | 318 (49) | .009 |
| Total No. of drugs used | |||||
| 0-5 | 757 (51) | 700 (51) | 409 (57) | 291 (45) | <.001 |
| >5 | 740 (49) | 667 (49) | 311 (43) | 356 (55) | |
| Diabetes comorbidity | 299 (20) | 272 (20) | 128 (18) | 144 (22) | .04 |
| CAD comorbidity | 234 (16) | 212 (16) | 96 (13) | 116 (18) | .02 |
| Antihypertensive drugs | 1256 (84) | 1148 (84) | 583 (81) | 565 (87) | .001 |
| Antihyperlipidemic drugs | 1204 (80) | 1105 (81) | 572 (79) | 533 (82) | .17 |
| Anticoagulant drugs | 439 (29) | 385 (28) | 174 (24) | 211 (33) | <.001 |
| Antiplatelet drugs | 991 (66) | 921 (67) | 507 (70) | 414 (64) | .02 |
| mRS score at 6 mo, median (IQR)j | 1 (1-3) | 1 (1-3) | 1 (0-2) | 2 (1-3) | <.001 |
| 0-2: Good outcome | 941 (63) | 890 (65) | 544 (76) | 346 (54) | |
| 3-6: Poor outcome | 536 (36) | 469 (34) | 173 (24) | 296 (46) | |
| SGPALS rating after stroke, median (IQR)k | |||||
| 1 wk | 1 (1-2) | 1 (1-2) | 1 (1-2) | 1 (1-2) | <.001 |
| 1 mo | 1 (1-2) | 1 (1-2) | 2 (1-2) | 1 (1-2) | <.001 |
| 3 mo | 1 (1-2) | 1 (1-2) | 2 (1-2) | 1 (1-1) | <.001 |
| 6 mo | 1 (1-2) | 1 (1-2) | 2 (1-2) | 1 (1-1) | <.001 |
Abbreviations: CAD, coronary artery disease; LACS, lacunar stroke; mRS, modified Rankin Scale; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; OCSP, Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project; PACS, partial anterior circulation stroke; POCS, posterior circulation stroke; SGPALS, Saltin-Grimby Physical Activity Level Scale; TACS, total anterior circulation stroke.
Sixty-four participants (4.2%) had a recurrent stroke during the first 6 months. Other conditions after the index hospitalization were previously reported elsewhere.12 Of the 1497 participants, 79 (5.2%) stayed in inpatient rehabilitation units.
The increaser group had a significant increase in physical activity from 1 week to 6 months after randomization and sustained it at light intensity.
The decreaser group had a significant decline in physical activity from 1 week to 6 months after randomization and became inactive.
Comparison between the increaser and decreaser groups was conducted using Jonckheere-Terpstra test, Pearson χ2, or Mann-Whitney test, as appropriate.
Not applicable in participants with hemorrhagic stroke (n = 185).
One participant had an unclear living arrangement.
Others included part-time (n = 68), unemployed (n = 15), volunteer (n = 2), or unknown (n = 21).
There were 197 participants with missing educational level data.
Cognition was assessed using Montreal Cognitive Assessment, which could not be conducted in 247 participants due to aphasia (n = 26); impairments, including diplopia, hemiparesis, fatigue, or worse general condition (n = 140); unknown reason (n = 60); and administrative or logistics problems (n = 21). Impaired cognition was defined as a score of 1 SD or more below a normative mean after adjusting for age, sex, and educational level.
The mRS data were missing in 20 participants, including 5 who withdrew from the study and 15 who were lost to follow-up.
The SGPALS data were missing in 167 participants at 1 week, 167 participants at 1 month, 104 participants at 3 months, and 124 participants at 6 months.