Prevalence of Depression Among Stroke Survivors

Abstract

Background and Purpose— Although poststroke depression is common, racial–ethnic disparities in depression among stroke survivors remain underexplored. Thus, we investigated the relationship between race/ethnicity and depression in a multiracial–ethnic stroke cohort. Methods— Baseline survey data of validated scales of depression and functional status, demographics, comorbidities, and socioeconomic status were used from a recurrent stroke prevention study among community-dwelling urban stroke/transient ischemic attack survivors. Results— The cohort included 556 participants with a mean age of 64 years. The majorities were black (44%) or latino (42%) and female (60%), had their last stroke/transient ischemic attack nearly 2 years before study enrollment, and lived below the poverty level (58%). Nearly 1 in 2 latinos, 1 in 4 blacks, and 1 in 8 whites were depressed. Multivariate logistic regression showed that survivors who were younger, were female, had ≥3 comorbid conditions, were functionally disabled from stroke, lacked emotional–social support, and who took antidepressants before study entry had higher risk of depression. Time since last stroke/transient ischemic attack did not affect the chance of depression. After adjusting for all above risk factors, latinos had 3× the odds of depression (95% confidence interval: 1.18–6.35) than whites; blacks and whites had similar odds of depression. Conclusions— This study reveals that latino stroke survivors have a significantly higher prevalence of depression compared with their non-latino counterparts.