Depression in stroke patients 7 years following stroke.
OBJECTIVE
To study the frequency of depression in stroke patients many years following stroke, most previous studies having concentrated on the first few years.


METHODS
Participants of a previous study of post-stroke depression (99 stroke patients and 28 control subjects) were re-examined 7 years later. Depression was diagnosed using research diagnostic criteria. The test battery comprised the Mini Mental State Examination, the Raven Matrices A+B and Word Pair Learning. Subjective experience of changes in memory, concentration, mood, irritability and fatigue during the 7-year period was also examined.


RESULTS
Twenty per cent of the stroke patients fulfilled the criteria for major or minor depression compared with 11% of the control subjects. No differences in cognitive function were found between depressed and non-depressed stroke patients. The stroke patients reported experiencing more lability of mood and irritability during the 7-year period following stroke than the control subjects. Depressed stroke patients experienced more impairment of concentration and memory function than non-depressed stroke patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Affective symptoms are common among stroke patients 7 years following stroke.
Dam
H
H
Department of Psychiatry, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D003907:Dexamethasone; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000523:psychology*
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D003907:Dexamethasone; D006854:Hydrocortisone