Depression and Associated Factors Among Post-Stroke Patients in Tertiary Care Center

Abstract

Introduction: Stroke is the leading cause of long-term physical and mental disability and causes major individual, social and financial burden. The relationship between depression and stroke is well established. There is substantial evidence that comorbid depression among stroke survivors is associated with a negative impact on recovery, especially on daily functioning, and it also decreases the quality of life. The aim of this study is to find the prevalence of depression and its associated factors among post-stroke patients.Method: A descriptive-prospective study was done among post-stroke patients attending the out-patient and inpatient departments of Internal Medicine at National Medical College from 1st June 2014 to 30 May 2015. Purposive sampling, a type of non-random sampling technique was utilized for the study. Informed consent was taken prior to study. Ethical approval was taken from Institutional Review Board. After proper instructions, self-designed pro-forma was used to collect data, following which, ICD-10 and HAM-D (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) was applied. Data analysis was done using SPSS 20.Results: Out of 79 stroke patients, 62.02% had an ischemic stroke and 37.97% had a hemorrhagic stroke. Prevalence of depression using Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was 39.24%. Statistically significant association was seen between depression and sex, income and occupation among socio-demographic variables (p < 0.05). Association of depression with age, education, marital status, address, laterality of lesion, duration of illness and type of stroke was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Occurrence of depression in stroke survivors is common. Routine depression screening is recommended in stroke survivors for better management and early recovery.