A PROSPECTIVE STUDY ON POST STROKE DEPRESSION ASSESSMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON QUALITY OF LIFE IN STROKE PATIENTS

Rinu Mary Thomas, Bincy Ravi, Sam Jincy Das D. S., Shahin S., Silvia Navis*, Prasobh G. R. and Shruthy B. Kurup

ABSTRACT

Background: Stroke is important neurological problem and is the third leading cause of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide. Depression is a mental health disorder consisting of two or more episodes of depressed mood, loss of interest, diminished sense of pleasure causing significant impairment in daily life. Post stroke depression (PSD) is significantly associated with increased risk of disability, stroke recurrence and poor quality of life. We assessed the proportion of depression, functional status, prescribing pattern in post stroke depression and impact on quality of life in stroke patients. Methods: A total of 98 patients whom visited the Department of neurology at a tertiary care hospital who had stroke and depressive symptoms as their chief complaints were enrolled for the study. Result: A total of 88 stroke patients fulfilling the study criteria were included, after excluding 10 patients as per the exclusion criteria. The statistical analysis clearly depicts that 34% had post stroke depression & QoL with a p ≤ 0.001 and functional status p ≤ 0.001 is highly significant. Conclusion: The aim of the study was to determine the proportion of depression, functional status, prescribing pattern in post stroke depression and impact on quality of life in stroke patients. In our research, stroke patients with a low barthel index score, i.e. functional status had a higher degree of depression, as well as a lower quality of life. However, a larger sample size and longer duration of study is required to produced valuable and reliable results.

Keywords: Post stroke depression, stroke, quality of life, functional status, antidepressants.