Abstract TP355: The Effect of Age and Gender on Physical Activity Over Time in Young Stroke Survivors

The prevalence of stroke in young adults is rising. Risk factors for stroke (obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension) are more common now among younger adults aged 18 to 54 years old. Recent systematic reviews describing physical activity (PA) interventions to optimize health and prevent secondary stroke have been comprised largely of older adult participants. Research is needed to understand the variables associated with PA behavior in younger stroke survivors. To fill a gap, we conducted a longitudinal study examining changes in PA over time and the impact of age and gender. Methods: Stroke survivors between the ages of 18 and 54 years old participated in an online survey (Qualtrics®) at Time 1 and 4 months later. PA was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Descriptive statistics were used to describe participants. Differences were analyzed with paired samples t-tests, and correlation analysis was used to identify relationships between PA and participant characteristics. The level of significance was predetermined as p .05 (two-sided). Based on the correlation analysis, linear regression was used to analyze the contribution of age to PA, and ANCOVA was used to identify gender differences in PA while controlling for age. Results: The sample included 175 stroke survivors aged 21-51 (mean 36.53, SE = .551; SD = 7.2955). Sixty-five percent of participants were male and thirty-five percent were female. The mean Total PA at Time 1 was 673 min/week (SD=551). The mean Total PA at Time 2 was 804 min/week (SD = 646) with an overall statistically significant increase in PA (mean change +131 minutes) over a 4 month period ( p =.001). At Time 1, age accounted for 15% of the variance in Total PA ( p =.001) and for every year of age there was a predicted decrease in Total PA of 29.76 min/week. After adjustment for age, there was a statistically significant difference in Total PA (min/week) at Time 1 between genders [ F (1, 171) = 9.872, p =.002, η 2 = .055], with females engaged in significantly more Total PA than males. At Time 2, age accounted for 12% of the variance in Total PA ( p =.001) and females continued to engage in significantly more Total PA than males, [F(1,171) = 12.583, p < 001, η 2 = .069]. Conclusions: The young stroke survivors in this study were more physically active over time and PA was impacted by both age and gender. Younger age and female gender were consistently associated with higher levels of PA.