Depression after minor stroke: the association with disability and quality of life – a 1‐year follow‐up study

International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, September 2015

26343540

Yu Zhi Shi, Yu Tao Xiang, Yang Yang, Ning Zhang, Shuo Wang, Gabor S Ungvari, Helen F K Chiu, Wai Kwong Tang, Yi Long Wang, Xing Quan Zhao, Yong Jun Wang, Chun Xue Wang

Minor stroke is characterized by mild neurological functional impairment and relatively good outcome. Little is known about the association between post-stroke depression (PSD) and outcomes of minor stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between PSD and disability and quality of life (QoL) at 1 year after minor ischemic stroke. Patients with first-ever minor ischemic stroke (n = 747) were followed up at 14 ± 2 days, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after stroke. Depressive symptoms were assessed at each follow-up. Patients diagnosed with depression at 14 ± 2 days formed the early-onset PSD group; those who were diagnosed with depression at any subsequent follow-ups for the first time constituted the late-onset PSD group. The outcomes of minor stroke including disability (modified Rankin score ≥2) and QoL (Short Form-36 Health Survey) were assessed at the 1-year follow-up. A total of 198 (26.5%) patients were diagnosed with PSD over the 1-year follow-up; 136 and 62 patients were allocated to the early-onset PSD group and late-onset PSD group, respectively. Both early-onset and late-onset PSD were independently associated with disability and poor physical and mental health at 1 year after stroke. Recovery from depression (n = 112) within 1 year decreased the adverse impacts of PSD on functional outcome and QoL. Post-stroke depression was independently associated with disability and poor QoL at 1 year after first-ever minor ischemic stroke. Recovery from PSD decreased but did not eliminate the adverse impacts of PSD on outcomes of minor stroke.