People who are depressed after a stroke are at risk of dying early, and their risk of death is three times the risk that people who are not affected by a stroke or depression can be exposed. The risk of death from the stroke itself is quadrupled.
These data were obtained by researchers from the Keck School of Medicine, working at the University of Southern California, and the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Los Angeles.
"Every third person who has suffered a stroke develops depression," says study author Amitis Toufay. “But this is something that family members can always notice and take advantage of the opportunity to save their loved ones.”
The study covered 10,550 people, whose age varied from 25 to 74 years. During 21 years of observation, 73 of them had a stroke, but depression did not develop. 48 people suffered from both stroke and depression. 2291 people were lucky a little more, they did not have a stroke, but there was depression. But the most fortunate 8138 participants in the study were stroke and depression were over.
Considering the influence of factors such as age, gender, race, education, income and marital status, scientists obtained the following data: the risk of death from any cause was three times higher in people affected by stroke and depression, and the risk of death from stroke was four times higher among the same people. And all this is compared with the lucky ones who did not have a stroke or a depressed state.
Given the fact that depression after a stroke is not a rare phenomenon, the authors draw attention to the importance of early detection and treatment of depression in people who have suffered a stroke.
