Relationship between the Severity of Poststroke Depression (PSD) and Cognitive Function in the Patients with Stroke

Objective: To investigate the correlation between poststroke depression (PSD) and the cognitive impairment in the patients with subacute stroke. Method: The subjects were 53 patients with cerebral infarction (n=28) and cerebral hemorrhage (n=25). These patients had a mean age of 64.3. The mean onset time was 2.7 months. The location of stroke was in the right hemisphere in 24 subjects, left hemisphere in 23, and bilateral in 6. The severity of PSD was evaluated by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Korean Geriatric Depression Scale (KGDS), and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRS-D) and the evaluation of cognitive impairments was based on Computerized Neuro-psychological Test (CNT), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The Pearson correlation was used as a measure of the strength of association between cognitive impairments and PSD. Independent t-tests were calculated to compare differences in cognitive functioning according to hemispheric involvement. Results: PSD was diagnosed in 33 of 53 patients by the BDI, in 28 of 43 patients by the KGDS and in 22 of 45 patients by the HRS-D. Scores in the verbal and visual learning domains of the CNT were significantly correlated with scores on the BDI, KGDS, and HRS-D, but scores on the MMSE were unrelated to any of these measures of depression. Conclusion: We suggest the use of the CNT in poststroke depression patients could be a useful tool from the viewpoint of differentiation of PSD patients with or without cognitive impairment and the diagnosis for poststroke depression should be conducted by self rating and objective assessments.