Association of type 2 diabetes mellitus and cognitive function with the resumption of oral intake during stroke rehabilitation

Background

Physical factors including motor and balance functions are associated with resumption of oral intake of the stroke patients receiving nasogastric tube feeding. However, association of non-physical factors remains unclear. The aims of this study are to explore non-physical factors associated with resumption of oral intake after stroke and to clarify how they affect the time course of the resumption.

Methods

A total of 116 patients receiving nasogastric tube feeding after stroke were retrospectively analyzed from a single center observational cohort database. Associations of physical and non-physical factors with resumption of oral intake at discharge from the stroke rehabilitation facility were investigated. We also evaluated how the specific combination of non-physical prognostic factors affected the time course of resumption using survival analyses.

Results

Among 116 patients, 59 (50.4 %) resumed oral intake. History of diabetes mellitus (DM) (P < 0.001) and higher cognitive functional independence scores (C-FIM) (P = 0.03) were significantly associated with the resumption of oral intake at discharge. These non-physical factors had an additive value on conventional risk factors to predict resumption of oral intake. Patients with a history of DM were significantly associated with improved resumption of oral intake than with non-DM patients with lower C-FIM scores (< 18) by survival analysis (P = 0.001), and this difference became prominent after 90 days post-stroke.

Conclusion

A history of DM and better cognitive function as non-physical factors were significantly associated with the resumption of oral intake in patients receiving nasogastric tube feeding after stroke.