Increased Stroke Risk for Those With Depression

Summary: People with depression are not only at greater risk of stroke, they are also more likely to experience worse recovery after a stroke.

Source: AAN

People who have symptoms of depression may have an increased risk of having a stroke, according to a study published in the March 8, 2023, online issue of Neurology.

The researchers also found that people with depressive symptoms were more likely to have worse recovery after a stroke.

“Depression affects people around the world and can have a wide range of impacts on a person’s life,” said study author Robert P. Murphy, MBBS, of the University of Galway in Ireland.

“Our study provides a broad picture of depression and its association with stroke risk by looking at a number of factors including participants’ symptoms, lifestyle choices and antidepressant use. Our results show that depressive symptoms were associated with increased risk of stroke, and the risk was similar across age groups and worldwide.

The study involved 26,877 adults from the INTERSTROKE study and involved people from 32 countries across Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Middle East and Africa. The participants had an average age of 62 years. Of the participants, more than 13,000 had a stroke. They were compared with more than 13,000 people who had not experienced a stroke but were similar in their age, gender, racial or ethnic identity.

Participants completed questionnaires at the start of the study about cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure and diabetes. The researchers collected information about symptoms of depression within the year before the study. They were asked if they had felt sad, blue or depressed for two or more consecutive weeks during the past 12 months.

Of the study participants, 18% of those who had a stroke had symptoms of depression compared to 14% of those who did not have a stroke.

Of the study participants, 18% of those who had a stroke had symptoms of depression compared to 14% of those who did not have a stroke. The image is in the public domain

After adjusting for age, gender, education, physical activity and other lifestyle factors, people with depressive symptoms before stroke had a 46% higher risk of stroke compared with those without depressive symptoms.

The more symptoms the participants had, the higher the risk of stroke. Participants who reported five or more symptoms of depression had a 54% higher risk of stroke than those with no symptoms, while those who reported three to four symptoms of depression and those who reported one or two symptoms of depression had 58 % and 35% higher. risk, respectively.

See also

While people with depressive symptoms were not more likely to have more severe strokes, they were more likely to have worse outcomes one month after the stroke than those without depressive symptoms.

“In this study we gained deeper insight into how depressive symptoms may contribute to stroke,” added Murphy. “Our results show that symptoms of depression can have an impact on mental health, but also increase the risk of stroke. Physicians should look for these symptoms of depression and can use this information to help guide health initiatives focused on stroke prevention.”

A limitation of the study was that participants completed questionnaires about depressive symptoms only at the beginning of the study, so the effects of depression over time could not be measured.

About this news about depression and stroke research

Author: Press Office
Source: AAN
Contact: Press Office – AAN
Image: Image is in the public domain

Original research: The findings will appear in Neurology