Skip to main content
Navigate back to homepage
Open search bar.
Open main navigation menu

Main navigation

  • Study
    UCL Portico statue
    Study at UCL

    Being a student at UCL is about so much more than just acquiring knowledge. Studying here gives you the opportunity to realise your potential as an individual, and the skills and tools to thrive.

    • Undergraduate courses
    • Graduate courses
    • Short courses
    • Study abroad
    • Centre for Languages & International Education
  • Research
    Tree-of-Life-MehmetDavrandi-UCL-EastmanDentalInstitute-042_2017-18-800x500-withborder (1)
    Research at UCL

    Find out more about what makes UCL research world-leading, how to access UCL expertise, and teams in the Office of the Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation and Global Engagement).

    • Engage with us
    • Explore our Research
    • Initiatives and networks
    • Research news
  • Engage
    UCL Print room
    Engage with UCL

    Discover the many ways you can connect with UCL, and how we work with industry, government and not-for-profit organisations to tackle tough challenges.

    • Alumni
    • Business partnerships and collaboration
    • Global engagement
    • News and Media relations
    • Public Policy
    • Schools and priority groups
    • Visit us
  • About
    UCL welcome quad
    About UCL

    Founded in 1826 in the heart of London, UCL is London's leading multidisciplinary university, with more than 16,000 staff and 50,000 students from 150 different countries.

    • Who we are
    • Faculties
    • Governance
    • President and Provost
    • Strategy
  • Active parent page: Brain Sciences
    • Study
    • Research
    • About the Faculty
    • Institutes and Divisions
    • Active parent page: News and Events
    • Contact

New study highlights need to increase support for stroke survivors

Care for stroke survivors urgently needs to focus on non-motor outcomes like fatigue, anxiety and reduced social participation to improve survivors’ quality of life and minimise care needs, according to a new study at UCLH and UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology.

7 November 2024

Breadcrumb trail

  • Brain Sciences
  • News and Events

Faculty menu

  • Current page: Faculty news
  • Events

The study is the first to comprehensively capture the wide-ranging impacts of non-motor outcomes – which also include depression and sleep disturbances – in a large group of patients.

Until now, research and care has focused on motor skills, such as the ability to walk and talk. The lack of focus on non-motor outcomes means many stroke survivors face prolonged challenges with little support.

The research team said greater awareness of non-motor outcomes of stroke would also reduce inequalities in care provision, and would have economic benefit: persistence of non-motor symptoms can result in lost income and increased care needs for patients.

The study is based on 3,080 patients who are part of the Stroke Investigation Group in North and Central London (SIGNAL) registry.

It was delivered by researchers from The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) at UCLH, and UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology Stroke Research Centre. It was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research UCLH Biomedical Research Centre.

Key findings were that, six months after stroke:

  • 57% of patients experienced fatigue
  • 55% experienced reduced social participation
  • 54% experienced sleep disturbances
  • 44% experienced constipation

Risk factors for these non-motor outcomes included:

  • having had intracerebral haemorrhage, a subtype of stroke which causes bleeding inside the brain
  • the severity of the stroke
  • having had a previous stroke
  • having pre-existing cardiovascular disease
Lead author Dr Hatice Ozkan said: “Research into non-motor outcomes in stroke has been a large gap in research. And where research has been done in non-motor outcomes, the studies have been in small groups and focused on individual outcomes rather than looking at the overall picture.”
Senior author and consultant neurologist Prof David Werring (Stroke Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) said: “Despite the burden of these non-motor outcomes, there are currently no standardised care pathways to address them. Clinical care has overlooked the non-motor outcomes that dominate life after stroke. This has led to an under-estimation of the true burden faced by stroke survivors. There is an urgent gap in post-stroke care.”

The study provides the critical evidence for the urgent need to implement comprehensive approaches the address the long-term non-motor effects of stroke.

Dr Robert Simister, Stroke Service lead at UCLH, said: “The study shows that we must place more focus within care on these non-motor outcomes, with patient voices at the core of stroke service design. If we increase support through existing stroke services, we can reduce the burden on patients, minimise future hospital admissions, and improve overall quality of life for patients. And for many of these non-motor outcomes, there are good treatments available.”

The results of the study align with the NHS 5-Year Plan focus on the need for improved access to high quality care post stroke for all who need it, and with the priorities of stroke patients as identified in a recent James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership paper (Stroke Rehabilitation and Long Term Care Top 10 Priorities). The findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive care that addresses non-motor outcomes.

Links

  • Ozkan et al ‘Prevalence, predictors, and patterns of patient reported non-motor outcomes six months after stroke: a prospective cohort study’ The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, Volume 47, 2024, 101080, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2024.101080.
  • Professor David Werring's academic profile
  • Dr Robert Simister's UCLH profile

Source: UCLH

UCL footer

Visit

  • Bloomsbury Theatre and Studio
  • Library, Museums and Collections
  • UCL Maps
  • UCL Shop
  • Contact UCL

Students

  • Accommodation
  • Current Students
  • Moodle
  • Students' Union

Staff

  • Inside UCL
  • Staff Intranet
  • Work at UCL
  • Human Resources

UCL social media menu

  • Link to Soundcloud
  • Link to Flickr
  • Link to TikTok
  • Link to Youtube
  • Link to Instagram
  • Link to Facebook
  • Link to Twitter

University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7679 2000

© 2025 UCL

Essential

  • Disclaimer
  • Freedom of Information
  • Accessibility
  • Cookies
  • Privacy
  • Slavery statement
  • Log in