Comparisons of Quality of Life and Asymmetric Atrophy in Regularly Walking Elderly Female Stroke Survivors

Regularly participating in physical activity is known to improve quality of life and body composition in elderly with stroke. However, comparatively less physical activity is performed by the stroke survivors. The factors related to inactivity in elderly female stroke survivors have not been elucidated. Therefore, this study aims to compare the quality of life factors and limb compositions between the active and inactive elderly female stroke survivors. Forty nine subjects between the ages of 65 to 75 years were selected from the KNHANES data between the years 2009 to 2011. In addition, 186 agematched healthy peers were also selected for limb composition comparisons. The subjects were groups based on walking days per week: walkers; 3 days or more, non-walkers; less than 3 days per week. BMI and waist circumference were within the obesity ranges for both the non-walkers and walkers. As results, the trend for greater fat (${\pm}10%$) and lean mass (${\pm}30%$) differences were observed for non-walker and walkers, respectively. Significantly greater reasons for function limitation by stroke and hypertension were reported with significantly greater self-care difficulty was shown by the walkers. In conclusion, elderly female stroke survivals may require customized motivation and continuous support to participate in physical activity regularly.