Lesion location and serum levels of homocysteine are associated with early‐onset post‐stroke depression in acute ischemic stroke

INTRODUCTION: It is well known that post‐stroke depression (PSD) is a psychiatric complication after stroke which leads to worse functional outcome and poorer quality of life. Some risk factors including gender, stroke severity, lesion location, homocysteine (HCY), and so on are associated with PSD. This study aims to further explore the possible relationship between serum levels of HCY and early‐onset PSD and the predictive value of HCY combined with stroke characteristics for early‐onset PSD. METHODS: Two hundred forty‐five patients with acute ischemic stroke who met the criteria were included in this study from March 2015 to March 2017. PSD was diagnosed at 2 weeks after stroke. The severity of depressive symptoms was evaluated with the Hamilton depression scale 17 items (HAMD‐17), and patients with HAMD scores ≥7 were included in the PSD group. The demographic data, clinical characteristics, serum levels of HCY, and detailed radiological variables (e.g., lesion location and quantity of the brain infarct) were also examined. RESULTS: In total, 97 (39.6%) patients of the 245 patients were diagnosed with depression. The univariate analyses suggested that patients in PSD group had a higher NIHSS score, modified Rankin Scale score, and HCY levels than patients in non‐PSD group (p < .001). The patients with PSD had higher proportion of multiple‐site acute infarcts and frontal lobe lesion (p < .05). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, NIHSS score at admission, serum levels of HCY, and multiple‐site lesions were independently related to early‐onset PSD. Based on receiver operating characteristic curves analysis, the combination of HCY, NIHSS scores, multiple‐site lesions, and lesion location revealed a highest area under the curve of 0.807 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.748–0.865, p < .001). Furthermore, there was a significantly increased risk of early‐onset PSD associated with serum levels of HCY ≥16.98 μmol/L (odds ratio [OR] = 10.976, 95% CI: 5.585–21.573, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that higher NIHSS score, elevated serum levels of HCY, and multiple‐site lesions may be independent risk factors of early‐onset PSD. The combination of HCY, NIHSS scores, multiple‐site lesions, and lesion location may provide greater predictive value than HCY alone for early‐onset PSD. Early intervention for elevated serum levels of HCY may be a potential target for the intervention and prevention of PSD.