Objective: To investigate the long-term resumption of leisure and social activities in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) and to determine the role of executive dysfunction and aneurysms in anterior brain regions in particular.
Method: Leisure and social functioning of 200 patients with aSAH having anterior or posterior aneurysms was determined using the Role Resumption List (RRL). Executive functioning was investigated using the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX) and sub-scales Social Convention (SC) and Executive Cognition (EC). Mood, fatigue and cognitive problems were investigated with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Brain Injury Symptom Checklist (BISC).
Results: Of all patients, 46.5% reported complete return to previous leisure activities and 61.5% reported no changes in social interactions. HADS depression score, fatigue, DEX-EC sub-scale score and work status post-aSAH were predictors of leisure resumption. For social re-integration, HADS depression score, cognitive problems and fatigue were predictors. Aneurysm location did not influence leisure and social re-integration.
Conclusions: A substantial number of the patients still experience problems in resuming previous activities in the chronic phase post-aSAH, influenced by cognitive, executive and depressive problems, as well as current work status and fatigue. Aneurysm location does not seem to influence this resumption.
Keywords: Activities of daily living; cognition; executive functioning; social re-integration.