Frequency of depression among hypertensive patients who developed stroke

Background: The relationship between depression and stroke has been described in different studies. However most of these studies were done in stroke condition arising from different risk factors. Since the risk factor for stroke determine the lesion volume which in turn influences the frequency of depression, it is important to determine the frequency of depression in specific risk factor for stroke. The purpose of this study is therefore to determine the frequency of major depression among patients who developed stroke from hypertension. Methods: This is a retrospective study. Thirty four patients who developed stroke from severe hypertension were included. Using Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) IV criteria, the stroke patients who were diagnosed with depression were identified. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS Version 11. Results: The age of the patients ranged from 30 to 80 years (mean= 60.2 ±10.5 years). Compared to the males (57.4 ±11.7years), female patients appeared to be older (mean = 62.2 ±9.4 years). However the difference was not statiscally significant (P=0.46). Half of the stroke patients were married while 30% were gainfully employed. Left hemispheric stroke constituted about 70% of stroke site, five patients (14.7%) had depression. Conclusions: This study suggested that depression is not infrequent among hypertensives with stroke. Further studies with larger sample size are recommended to confirm our findings