The association between serum ferritin levels and post-stroke depression.
BACKGROUND
Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a common neuropsychiatric affective disorder occurring after stroke. Elevated serum ferritin levels have been reported to contribute to depression. Our aim was to determine whether there is a relationship between serum ferritin levels and PSD.


METHODS
196 ischemic stroke patients were consecutively recruited within the first 24h of stroke onset and were followed up for 2 months. Serum ferritin levels were assayed by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay at hospital admission. Clinical depression was diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria and a HAMD -17 score of ≥ 7. Meanwhile, 100 normal control subjects were also recruited.


RESULTS
We found that 56 stroke patients (28.6%) were diagnosed with PSD at two months. There was a significant intergroup difference in serum ferritin levels within 24h after admission (F=25.044, P<0.001). Serum ferritin levels were significantly higher at admission in PSD patients than in non-PSD patients and normal controls. There was a positive correlation between serum ferritin levels and hs-CRP at admission in PSD patients (r=0.129, P=0.042). In multivariate analyses, serum levels of ferritin ≥ 130.15 µg/L were independently associated with PSD at two months [odds ratio OR=5.388, 95%CI:1.725-16.829; P=0.004] after adjusting for all possible variables.


CONCLUSIONS
We excluded patients with severe aphasia and with serious conditions.In addition, the information for dietary intake was not recorded, which may influence body iron stores.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings show that elevated serum ferritin levels at admission are associated with PSD and may predict its development at 2 months post-stroke.
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
Lin
L
Zhu
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
Bin
B
Han
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
Liping
L
Wang
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
Yaling
Y
Chang
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
Wenwei
W
Ren
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
Yingying
Y
Gu
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
Mengjiao
M
Yan
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
Chaowen
C
Wu
Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston,TX, USA.
Xiang Yang
XY
Zhang
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China; Department of Psychology,Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China. Electronic address: hjc@wmu.edu.cn.
Jincai
J
He
D000368:Aged; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020521:Stroke / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology
D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D005293:Ferritins
Depression; Ferritin; Stroke