Table 1.
Demographics and characteristics of ischemic stroke patients
| Overall (n = 3,200) | Dysphagia (n = 317) | No dysphagia (n = 2,883) | p value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approximate age (years)a | 78.1 (6.9) | 79.4 (6.7) | 78.0 (6.9) | bold>0.001 |
| Maleb | 1,228 (38.4) | 118 (37.2) | 1,110 (38.5) | 0.66 |
| Caucasianb | 2,284 (71.4) | 214 (67.5) | 2,070 (71.8) | 0.11 |
| Diedb | 1,284 (40.1) | 178 (56.2) | 1,777 (38.4) | <0.0001 |
| Proportion of time alive (1 year)a | 0.76 (0.38) | 0.66 (0.40) | 0.77 (0.37) | <0.0001 |
| Length of stay (days)a | 8.4 (7.0) | 11.2 (7.1) | 8.1 (6.9) | <0.0001 |
| Charlson comorbidity scorea | 3.3 (1.8) | 3.5 (1.7) | 3.3 (1.8) | 0.02 |
| Urban/rural designation | ||||
| Small townb | 356 (11.1) | 30 (9.5) | 326 (11.3) | 0.16 |
| Micropolitanb | 749 (23.4) | 64 (20.2) | 685 (23.8) | |
| Metropolitanb | 2,095 (65.5) | 223 (64.9) | 1,872 (64.9) | |
| Major coded diagnoses at hospital discharge | ||||
| Dysphagiab | 317 (9.9) | |||
| Aphasiab | 398 (12.4) | 73 (23.0) | 325 (11.3) | <0.0001 |
| Dysarthriab | 326 (10.2) | 56 (17.7) | 270 (9.4) | <0.0001 |
| Sensory impairmentb | 36 (1.1) | 1 (0.3) | 35 (1.2) | 0.25 |
| Hemianopiab | 25 (0.8) | 1 (0.3) | 24 (0.8) | 0.51 |
| Neglectb | 9 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 9 (0.3) | 1.0 |
| Memory lossb | 4 (0.13) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (0.1) | 1.0 |
| Hemiplegiab | 1 (0.03) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.04) | 1.0 |
| Stroke severityc | ||||
| Mildb | 2,435 (76.1) | 188 (59.3) | 2,247 (77.9) | <0.0001 |
| Moderateb | 731 (22.8) | 127 (40.1) | 604 (21.0) | |
| Severeb | 34 (1.1) | 2 (0.6) | 32 (1.1) | |
a
Values are mean (SD)
b
Values are n (%)
c
Stroke severity is measured as mild if no (excluding dysphagia), moderate if one (excluding dysphagia and hemiplegia), and severe if hemiplegia or two or more major diagnoses (excluding dysphagia) are coded at hospital discharge
*
p values were calculated using nonparametric Wilcoxon scores for continuous measures, χ2 or Fisher’s exact test for categorical measures (as appropriate)