The association between social networks and functional recovery after stroke.

Background and purpose: Social determinants of health (SDOH), including social networks impact disability and quality of life post-stroke, yet the direct influence of SDOH on functional change remains undetermined. We aimed to identify which SDOH predict change on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) within 90-days after stroke hospitalization.

Methods: Stroke patients from the Transitions of Care Stroke Disparities Study (TCSDS) were enrolled from 12 hospitals in the Florida Stroke Registry. TCSDS aims to identify disparities in hospital-to-home transitions after stroke. SDOH were collected by trained interviewers at hospital discharge. The mRS was assessed at discharge, 30-, and 90-days post-stroke. Multinomial logistic regression models examined contributions of each SDOH to mRS improvement or worsening (compared to no change) from discharge to 30- and 90-days, respectively.

Results: Of 1,190 participants, median age was 64 years, 42% were women, 52% were Non-Hispanic White, and 91% had an ischemic stroke. Those with a limited social support network had greater odds of functional decline at 30-days (aOR = 1.39, 1.17-1.66), adjusting for age and onset to arrival time and at 90-days (aOR = 1.50, 1.10-2.05) after adjusting for age. Results were consistent after further adjustment for additional SDOH and participant characteristics. Individuals living with a spouse/partner had reduced odds of functional decline at 90-days (aOR = 0.74, 0.57-0.98); however, results were inconsistent with more conservative modeling approaches.

Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of SDOH, specifically having a greater number of individuals in your social network in functional recovery after stroke.