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Age, subjective stress, and depression after ischemic stroke

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Abstract

The incidence of stroke among younger adults in the United States is increasing. Few studies have investigated the prevalence of depressive symptoms after stroke among different age groups or the extent to which subjective stress at the time of stroke interacts with age to contribute to post-stroke depression. The present study examined whether there exists an age gradient in survivors’ level of depressive symptoms and explored the extent to which financial, family, and health-related stress may also impact on depression. Bivariate analyses (N = 322) indicated significant differences in depression and stress by age group, as well as differences in age and stress by 3-month depression status. Linear regression analyses indicated that survivors between the ages of 25–54 and 55–64 years old had, on average, significantly higher depressive symptom scores. Those with financial, family, and health-related stress at the time of stroke, irrespective of age, also had significantly higher scores.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by funding from the National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke [PI Kissela, Grant No R01NS030678-20].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Allied Health Sciences, School of Social Work, University of Cincinnati, PO Box 210108, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA

    Michael J. McCarthy

  2. Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Heidi J. Sucharew

  3. Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Kathleen Alwell, Charles J. Moomaw, Daniel Woo, Matthew L. Flaherty, Pooja Khatri, Simona Ferioli, Dawn O. Kleindorfer & Brett M. Kissela

  4. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Opeolu Adeoye

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Correspondence to Michael J. McCarthy.

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Michael J. McCarthy, Heidi J. Sucharew, Kathleen Alwell, Charles J. Moomaw, Daniel Woo, Matthew L. Flaherty, Pooja Khatri, Simona Ferioli, Opeolu Adeoye, Dawn O Kleindorfer and Brett M Kissela declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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McCarthy, M.J., Sucharew, H.J., Alwell, K. et al. Age, subjective stress, and depression after ischemic stroke. J Behav Med 39, 55–64 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-015-9663-0

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