Depression Doubles First-Time Stroke Risk

Patients with consistently elevated symptoms of depression for 4 years had twice the risk of first-time stroke compared to individuals who had low depressive symptoms.

“Although research has demonstrated that depressive symptoms predict stroke incidence, depressive symptoms are dynamic. It is unclear whether stroke risk persists if depressive symptoms remit,” said the study’s authors.
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The study included 16,178 patients without incidence of stroke from a nationally representative cohort, the Health and Retirement Study, who were interviewed biennially between 1998 and 2010.

Depression was measured through yes/no answers about sleep problems, feelings of loneliness, depressive feelings, and inability to get going from the previous week.

Other elements of the 8-item depression scale included patients answering whether or not they enjoyed life, were happy, or felt sad.

During the 12-year analysis, there were 1192 first-time stroke events reported.

Researchers discovered that individuals were more than twice as likely to experience a first-time stroke if they consistently reported high levels of depressive symptoms compared to those who did not report symptoms of depression.

Researchers also noted that stroke risk remained increased even among those whose depressive symptoms dissipated between interviews, especially for women.

The complete study is published in the May issue of Clinical Journal of the American Heart Association.

-Michelle Canales Butcher

Reference:

Gilsanz P, Walter S, Tchetgen EJ, et al. Changes in depressive symptoms and incidence of first stroke among middle-aged and older US Adults. J Am Heart Association. 2015 April [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1161/JAHA.115.001923.