Abstract
In order to find predictors of functional recovery for patients with aphasia, it is necessary to evaluate not only severity of aphasia but also patients' cognitive ability underlying aphasia. In this study, we investigated the influence both of a cognitive function and aphasia on the recovery of basic ADLs for patients with aphasia. Subjects were 80 patients with aphasia after cerebral vascular disease, who admitted to a rehabilitation hospital within three months after onset. Basic ADLs were examined by Barthel Index (BI). Severity of aphasia and cognition were evaluated by using Standard Language Test of Aphasia (SLTA) and Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM), respectively. All functional variables were examined at admission, 3 and 6 months after admission. A path analysis model was constructed such that BI could be directly influenced both by SLTA and RCPM. Physical function, age and period from onset to admission were also considered as independent variables in the model. The fitness of the model to our data was confirmed by determination coefficient (R2) for BI throughout the period examined. The path analysis showed that RCPM directly influenced on BI, but no effect of SLTA was found on BI in every period after admission. It was not the severity of aphasia but the cognitive ability to predict the recovery of ADLs for patients with aphasia. It was suggested that rehabilitation approaches to the cognitive function of aphasic patients were needed for their functional recovery.
