Handedness in stroke: A review of 450 cases at Enugu, south east Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: The relationship between stroke and subsequent handedness of limb weakness has been the subject of several studies. Handedness has been associated with several factors including quality of life and post stroke depression amongst others. The aim of this paper is to examine the pattern of stroke and handedness at a tertiary hospital in Enugu South East Nigeria and if possible examine the relationship between handedness and other factors present in the patients.
Method: A retrospective study of patients admitted with a clinical diagnosis of stroke between January 1980 and December 1999 was done. Relevant data were retrieved from the patients' case records.
Results: A total of 450 cases of stroke were identified within the time frame. There were more males than females (ratio 1.27:1). The mean age was 53.46 years. Most of the stroke cases were considered ischaemic in nature. There was an almost equal distribution of patients with left hemiparesis relative to those with right hemiparesis.Eight percent of the patients had tetraparesis. No significant relationship was found between handedness and sex of the patients. These findings agree with the results from other centres. It was not possible to examine the relationship with other factors as these were not documented in the folders. More studies are recommended to elucidate fully the relationship between stroke, handedness and other factors including gender.
Conclusion: The relationship between stroke, handedness and other patients' factors as seen in Nigeria will require more studies in other centres to be conducted in order to generate greater clarity of the issues involved.

Keywords: Stroke, handedness, Nigeria

Journal of College of Medicine Vol. 11 (2) 2006: 136-139