Abstract:

Objective To analyse the effects of gender on the prevalence, disease type, severity and recovery rate of post-stroke aphasia (PSA). Methods One hundred and ten patients with acute PSA were enrolled, the Western Aphasia Battery was employed for the evaluation and classification of aphasia, and the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Test was adopted for the severity grading of aphasia. Forty-four patients without specific speech therapy were evaluated again 12 weeks later. Results There were more male patients with PSA than female ones in the middleaged group（51 to 70 years old), while there were more female patients in the elderly group（>70 years old）（P<0.05）. There was no significant difference in the types of aphasia between males and females, and the global aphasia and motor aphasia were the most common types of acute PSA for both sex.  Although there was no significant difference in the gender distribution between right hemisphere lesion-induced and left hemisphere lesion-induced PSA (P=0.062), there was a tendency that female patients were more likely to suffer from PSA when lesions located in the right hemisphere. It was revealed by correlation analysis that the improved scores on aphasia quotient (AQ) 12 weeks later were only related to sex（r=0.303, P<0.05）. Conclusion The differences in brain structure and behavior between males and females may cause differences in the prevalence and recovery rate of PSA.

Key words: stroke, aphasia, sex