Systematic review of the influence of spasticity on quality of life in adults with chronic neurological conditions.

AbstractObjective: To conduct a systematic review of the published evidence on the relationship between spasticity and quality of life (QOL) in chronic neurological conditions in adults. Data sources: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and PsycINFO databases. Methods: The databases were searched from inception to October 2014 using keywords ‘spasticity’ and ‘quality of life’ for publications in English language. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies reporting quantitative analyses on the association between spasticity and QOL were included. Appraisal of the studies and data extraction were conducted in accordance with Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidance. Results: 17/652 studies (total of 27 827 patients) met inclusion criteria for review. These examined the relationship between spasticity and QOL in multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injury (SCI) and stroke. Spasticity was found to be associated with significantly lower scores on health status measures, namely SF-12, SF...