The Norwegian Polio Study 1994: a nation-wide survey of problems in long-standing poliomyelitis

Abstract

The Norwegian Polio Study 1994' was performed to make a nation-wide survey of the medical and social situation, and of the needs of anterior poliomyelitis (polio). A questionnaire, consisting of 133 questions with sub-questions, was sent to a total of 2392 polio victims, most of them registered in`The National Society of Polio Victims' in Norway. 1449 persons (61%) answered. Sixty-six per cent were between 45 and 64 years of age, 25% were above 64 years and 9% were under 45 years. When specifying new health problems, 85% stated that they had experienced increased weakness in muscles aected by polio, while 58% had experienced increased weakness in previous non-aected muscles. Other health problems related to polio were fatigue during exercise (80%), general fatigue (57%), joint pain (58%), muscular pain (58%) and cold intolerance (62%). The participants indicated an increasing need of aids, but 80% were still independent of help from others and 57% were still employed, fully or part time. Only 17% were satis®ed with the public health services for polio survivors, while 67% of those who had undergone comprehensive examination at some central hospital were satis®ed. This study indicates an obvious need of building up expertise in multidisciplinary evaluation and treatment of post polio problems in countries where acute polio has been eliminated.

Fatigue in polio survivors

“…However, a previous comparison between the present material and all acute polio cases noti®ed by the national health authorities indicated that we had reached a representative part of the Norwegian polio population. 27 The main ®nding in the present study was that the incidence of fatigue among polio survivors was considerably higher than in the normative data. Among polio survivors, 67.9% reported Substantial Fatigue (total dichotomized scores 54 on fatigue questionnaire), versus 22% in the normative group, and 53.3% of the polio survivors ful®lled the criteria for Caseness (total dichotomized scores 54 and duration of fatigue 46 months) versus 11.4% in the normative group.…”

Cancer risk in a cohort of polio patients

“…1,2 Despite the growing medical and scientific interest taken in the health of the polio patients, the full spectrum of long-term consequences of poliomyelitis still remains to be established. [3][4][5][6] Based on case reports, it has been hypothesized that poliomyelitis may be associated with a subsequent risk of tumors of the central nervous system (CNS). 7 A recent Italian case-control study has furthermore reported an increased risk of hematopoietic and lymphatic malignancies following polio.…”

Disability in a 4-year follow-up study of people with post-polio syndrome

“…The disease has disappeared as a major public health risk in western countries, but new health problems have been reported in individuals with a history of acute poliomyelitis (1,2). These new problems, which are related to the previous disease and occur more than 15 years after the acute illness, include fatigue, new or increased muscle weakness and muscle and joint pain (3)(4)(5)(6)(7). The impact of these problems on the patient's activity level is mainly on mobility, and on physical demands in the home or at work (8,9).…”