Impact of Comorbidities on ischemic stroke outcomes in women

Background and Purpose - We assessed the association of prestroke comorbidities with long-term stroke outcomes among women with ischemic stroke. Methods - Prestroke comorbid conditions in 133 women admitted with acute ischemic stroke were scored with the Charlson Index (CI). We assessed whether the CI and other specific conditions were associated with modified Rankin Score (mRS) at 90 days or more poststroke. Results - After adjustment for initial NIHSS and age, higher CI was the sole factor independently associated with poorer 90 day mRS scores. When CI was excluded, coronary disease and diabetes were independently associated with poorer outcome. Conclusion - The extent of comorbidities as assessed by the CI is independently associated with 90-day mRS among women with ischemic stroke, but the individual comorbidities of CHD and DM were each associated with functional outcome.