Part I: frequency of depression after stroke: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

BACKGROUND: Approximately 15 million people who suffer a stroke globally each year are at risk of developing depression. AIM: To update our systematic review and meta-analysis of the frequency of depression after stroke published in 2005, including studies published before July 2004. METHODS: We included all published observational studies (to 31 May 2013) with prospective consecutive recruitment and quantification of the proportion of people with depression after stroke. We included studies of adult (>18 years) patients with a clinical diagnosis of stroke, where an assessment of depression or depressive symptom burden was performed at a pre-specified time-point for all study participants. RESULTS: Data were available from 61 studies including 25,488 people. The proportional frequency of depression varied considerably across studies; however, the pooled frequency estimate of 31% (95% confidence interval 28% to 35%) was not significantly different from the 33% (difference of 2%, 95% confidence interval