African Americans and Women Have Lower Functional Gains During Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation After Hemorrhagic Stroke.
Sana Somani, Hely Nanavati, Xiaohua Zhou and 1 others
PMID 35034054WHAT IT FOUND
Female and African American patients with hemorrhagic stroke made smaller functional gains during acute inpatient rehabilitation than male and white patients.
These differences persisted even after accounting for stroke severity, age, and location, pointing to unmeasured factors rather than clinical presentation.
Key findings
01Female patients showed significantly lower mean FIM change and FIM efficiency compared to male patients.
02African American patients had significantly lower FIM efficiency compared to white patients.
03Sex and race remained significant predictors of lower FIM efficiency in adjusted regression models, while age, stroke location, etiology, and hematoma volume did not.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study included only 59 patients from a single academic center in the Stroke Belt, so results may not generalize to other populations or settings. Only patients who could tolerate rehabilitation were included, introducing selection bias and excluding those with very minor or very severe impairments. The sample was relatively young (mean age 54), which may have influenced overall recovery patterns. The study did not measure potential explanatory factors such as implicit bias, socioeconomic status, family support, comorbidities like obesity or end-stage renal disease, or patient attitudes toward rehabilitation. There was no follow-up data to determine whether these functional disparities persisted after discharge or affected long-term outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that female and African American patients inherently recover less from hemorrhagic stroke. This study observed associations but did not measure the mechanisms behind them, such as implicit bias, prior disability, or social support. The findings highlight a disparity in rehabilitation outcomes, not a fixed biological limit.