Measurement of quality of life in stroke patients.

The quality of life after stroke and the methods of measuring this aspect of the disease have been viewed with a growing interest. The measurement has been focused on the physical, psychological, social, and functional aspects of living and is generally based on the patients' subjective perception of his/her general health and well-being. Seven generic measurement scales and three recently developed stroke-specific scales have been assessed and discussed. The stroke-specific quality of life measures described in this review are as follows: the Stroke Adapted Sickness Impact Profile, the Stroke Impact Scale, and the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Measure. The various factors leading to a deterioration of the quality of life and influencing the quality of life scores are discussed and defined. Moreover, the necessity of further research is stressed.