title: A two-year longitudinal study of poststroke mood disorders. In-hospital prognostic factors associated with six-month outcome.
abstract: In a prospective study of mood disorders in stroke patients, variables obtained during the acute hospitalization were examined for their relationship to outcome at either 3- or 6-month follow-up. Distance of the lesion on computerized axial tomography scan from the frontal pole in patients with left anterior infarcts was significantly associated with severity of depression at 3 and 6 months poststroke. In addition, intellectual and functional physical impairment in-hospital were significantly correlated with severity of depression and social functioning scores at 3 and 6 months poststroke. Thus, patients who develop depression during the first 6 months poststroke may be responding to the severity of their impairment whereas the patients who develop depressions during the acute poststroke period may have a neuroanatomical and neurophysiological basis for their depression. Although other explanations might be proposed, the dynamic nature of the relationship between depression and associated variables during the first 6 months poststroke indicates that etiology of poststroke depression may be different depending upon the time of onset of the depression after brain injury.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000523:psychology; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011379:Prognosis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012923:Social Class; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed