Relationship between body mass index and rehabilitation outcomes in subacute stroke with dysphagia

Objective The aim of the study was to investigate the association between body mass index and rehabilitation outcome in hemiparetic patients with stroke in subacute phase. Design This was a prospective study testing the correlation between body mass index and the effectiveness of rehabilitation, measured using Barthel Index scores. We enrolled patients with subacute stroke (n = 664; age, 68 ± 14 yrs; length of hospital stay, 84 ± 34 days). We assessed the body mass index and Barthel Index both at admission and discharge. The effectiveness of rehabilitation was computed as the percentage increment in Barthel Index score with respect to the maximum achievable improvement. Results Effectiveness of rehabilitation was significantly correlated with the body mass index at discharge (R = 0.111, P = 0.004) and percentage change in body mass index (R = 0.253, P < 0.001), but not with body mass index at admission (R = 0.006, P = 0.869). Conclusions In addition to body mass index value, our findings suggest that rehabilitation outcomes can be influenced by the change in body mass index during rehabilitation.