Frequency of depression in patients with stroke

Stroke is a common neurological problem and the third leading cause of death in developed countries of the world. Among survivors, over 50% develop significant disabilities including neuro-psychiatric disabilities. Post stroke depression (PSD) is a common but less reported condition among survivors. Objectives: To determine the frequency of depression in patients with stroke. Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Department of Neurology, Services Hospital, Lahore from January, 2014 to December, 2014 over a period of 1 year. A total of 100 cases having stroke minimum 1 month ago, were recruited in the study. For evidence of depression, Personal Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) with criteria for mild, moderate, moderately sever and severe depression was used. Results: Mean age of the patients was 54.8 ± 8.1 years. In our study 63% of the patients were female while 37% patients were male. Post stroke depression was found in 35% of cases; 15% had severe depression, 8% had moderately severe, 9 % had moderate and only 3% patients had mild depression. Among these 35 patients, 22 patients (62.8%)had involvement of dominant half of brain while 13 patients (37.2%) had non-dominant half involved. Conclusion: Post stroke depression is present in significant number of post stroke patients. So it is advised to do PSD evaluation of all stroke patients for early and proper management