Background: To study the impact of fatigue in young ischaemic stroke patients.
Methods: The Fatigue Severity Scale score was obtained in 192 patients (mean time 6.0 years after the stroke) and 212 controls.
Results: Fatigue was associated with cerebral infarction in a multivariate analysis of patients and controls (p = 0.002). Fatigue was independently associated with unfavourable functional outcome (p = 0.001), depression (p < 0.001), and basilar artery infarction through interaction with the modified Rankin Scale score (p = 0.047) in patients.
Conclusion: Fatigue is frequent in young adults with cerebral infarction. Stroke-related factors independently associated with fatigue include functional outcome. Stroke location may influence fatigue.
Copyright (c) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.