Relationship of Aphasia Severity With Quality of Life in Home-dwelling Elderly With Stroke-induced Aphasia in Iran

Objectives Natural aging is accompanied by declines in physical, sensory, psychomotor, and cognitive domains. When these declines occur along with stroke-induced aphasia, it can significantly affect an individual’s quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to examine the relationship of aphasia severity with QoL in Iranian older adults with stroke-induced aphasia. Methods & Materials This correlational study with a cross-sectional design was conducted in 2022-2023 on 56 Persian-speaking people aged 60 and older diagnosed with aphasia, classified into three severity levels: Mild (n=21), moderate (n=14), and severe (n=21) using the clinical screening version of the Persian diagnostic aphasia battery (P-DAB-1). Participants were mainly selected from Tehran city, with a small number from Shiraz, Kerman, and Amol cities using a non-probability sampling method. Subsequently, the Stroke and Aphasia QoL scale (SAQOL-39) was completed by the participants. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics (Mean±SD), one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test, ANCOVA (for controlling the effects of age groups and time post-stroke), and Pearson’s correlation test in SPSS software, version 26, with a significance level set at 0.05. Results Participants were 30 men and 26 women, with a mean age of 68.61 years and a mean post-stroke time of 18.30 months. Significant differences were observed between severe and mild aphasia groups in the total SAQOL-39 score and its communication domain, and between moderate and severe aphasia groups in the physical domain (P0.05). Age (P=0.466) and time post-stroke (P=0.209) showed no significant impact on QoL. The total SAQOL-39 score (r=0.37) and its domains of communication (r=0.51), psychosocial (r=0.36), physical (r=0.23), and energy (r=0.23) had a significant correlation with aphasia severity (P