A new study suggests that patients who suffer post-stroke depression, often have depressive symptoms years before their stroke.
The research focused on determining the trajectory of depressive symptoms several years before and after a stroke.
Published in Neurology, the study analysed data from 10,797 participants from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) without a history of stroke at baseline.
Researchers matched participants with incident stroke during a 12-year follow-up to stroke-free individuals using scores accounting for age, gender, education, ethnicity and vascular risk factors.
To analyse the results, researchers used multilevel models.
The research identified 425 individuals with incident stroke. At the assessment before stroke, these individuals demonstrated an increase in depressive symptoms compared to matched controls.
Researchers also found a further increase in depressive symptoms in stroke survivors after the acute event, which persisted for several years.
Symptoms of depression
Maria Blöchl, one the authors of the paper, said: “Depression is not only a post-stroke issue, but also a pre-stroke phenomenon.
“Whether these pre-stroke changes can be used to predict who will have a stroke is unclear. Exactly why depressive symptoms occur pre-stroke needs to be investigated in future research. Also, the study underscores why doctors need to monitor for symptoms of depression long term in people who have had strokes.”
According to Priory Group, 280 million people in the world have depression which account for five per cent of adults.
While some people believe that depression is trivial or not a genuine health problem, it’s actually a real condition that affects one in ten people over the course of their lives. It impacts people of all ages and genders – including children.
Depression has a range of different symptoms, and it can affect everybody differently. The symptoms include feeling very tearful, feeling hopelessness and sadness, and losing interest in things you enjoyed before. It’s also common for people with depression to have symptoms of anxiety.
If you think you’re experiencing depressive symptoms, visit: How to find local mental health services
