Older Age, Low Socioeconomic Status, and Multiple Comorbidities Lower the Probability of Receiving Inpatient Rehabilitation Half a Year After Stroke

Objective To determine the predictors of receiving inpatient rehabilitation during 7 to 12 months after stroke. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting A nationally representative sample of 1 million National Health Insurance enrollees. Participants Patients with new-onset stroke (N=13,828) were included. Studied participants were patients who received inpatient rehabilitation during 4 to 6 months after stroke. Patients who died within 1 year of the stroke event were excluded (n=488). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures The outcome variable of interest was the probability of receiving inpatient rehabilitation during 7 to 12 months after stroke. The characteristics of both patients and medical care providers were investigated to determine their effect on patients receiving inpatient rehabilitation. Results Older patients, patients of low socioeconomic status, patients with Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥5, and patients who received outpatient rehabilitation during 4 to 6 months after stroke have a lower rate of receiving inpatient rehabilitation than do their counterparts. In addition, receiving inpatient rehabilitation during 7 to 9 months after stroke is a strong positive predictor of receiving inpatient rehabilitation during 10 to 12 months after stroke (odds ratio, 38.556; P<.0001). Conclusions This study revealed that older age, lower socioeconomic status, and multiple comorbidities are negative predictive factors with a cumulative predictive power for the probability of receiving inpatient rehabilitation during 7 to 12 months after stroke.