Factors associated with balance impairments amongst stroke survivors in northern Benin: A cross-sectional study.
Oyéné Kossi, Mendinatou Agbetou, Sènadé I Noukpo and 4 others
PMID 34693069WHAT IT FOUND
In 54 stroke survivors in Benin, 24.07% had balance impairments.
Fewer physiotherapy sessions and greater disability severity were linked to worse balance. Age, sex and stroke type showed no significant association.
Key findings
0124.07% of the 54 participants had balance impairments defined as a Berg Balance Scale score of 20 or less.
02Participants with fewer than 9 physiotherapy sessions were significantly more likely to have balance impairments compared to those with more sessions.
03Greater severity of disability was significantly associated with balance impairments, with an odds ratio of 8.33.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (54 participants), limiting the power to detect associations with less common factors. The study used a volunteer sampling approach, which may introduce selection bias. The Berg Balance Scale has known floor and ceiling effects, which may have led to an under- or over-estimation of impairment prevalence. The cross-sectional design cannot prove causality; it is unclear if low rehabilitation caused poor balance or if poor balance limited rehabilitation attendance. The study did not control for confounding variables such as specific medical comorbidities beyond stroke severity.
Declared interests
No specific conflicts of interest or funding sources were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that physiotherapy causes improved balance based on this study. The design is cross-sectional, so the association between fewer sessions and balance impairment could reflect that patients with worse balance were unable to attend more sessions, or that those with better balance were discharged earlier.