Medico-social consequences and direct costs of stroke in a Swedish community

Two hundred and eighty-one patients who had sustained a stroke for the first time were investigated in the municipality of Söderhamn, Sweden, and its rural surroundings. Of these patients 226 (80%) had lived in their own homes before the insult, while the majority of the remainder had lived in old people's homes. One hundred and eighty-nine patients survived for at least 3 months. The proportion of stroke survivors who were living at home was 53% after 3 months, 65% after 1 year and 68% after 2 and 3 years. The average number of days in hospital was 65 for men and 81 for women after 1 year and 111 and 181 respectively after 3 years. Only 11% were gainfully employed before the attack. This proportion varied between 1 and 10% in the 3-year post-stroke period. About 85% were retired, while the rest were receiving sickness benefit or a disability pension (4-16%). The direct costs of stroke per stroke patient in the municipality of Söderhamn, was estimated at 129 000 Swedish kr. (25 800 US dollars); index 1980. The major part of this sum consisted of charges for hospital care (43-46%), followed by charges for nursing care in old people's homes (16-24%) and home-helps (8-16%), during the 3-year follow-up. Disability pension or sickness benefit accounted for only 5-11%, auxiliary equipment for 1-6%, medication for 1-3% and out-patient care at the medical department for 1%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)