Aphasia among Young Patients with Ischemic Stroke on Long-term Follow-up

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to evaluate characteristics and long-term outcome of young patients with ischemic stroke (15-49 years at stroke onset) and aphasia.MethodsAphasia was defined as less than 10 points in the speech subscale of the Scandinavian Stroke Scale on long-term follow-up. Risk factors, origin, complications, social factors, and the Nottingham Health Profile subscores were compared between aphasic and nonaphasic young patients with ischemic stroke. On long-term follow-up, patients with aphasia were invited for further assessment of severity and subtype of aphasia.ResultsThe study comprised 195 patients still alive after a mean follow-up of 6 years. Twenty (10.3%) patients had aphasia. Aphasia was associated with cardiac embolism (P = .007), myocardial infarction (P = .005), epilepsy (P < .001), loss of employment (P = .021), and social isolation (P = .054). On follow-up, 13 patients with aphasia underwent further assessment. These patients had all improved into milder aphasia subtypes.ConclusionOur study suggests that relatively few young patients with ischemic stroke have clinically significant aphasia on long-term follow-up. However, there are clinically significant differences between patients with and without aphasia that should be the focus of future research.