The prevalence of stroke and depression and factors associated with depression in elderly people with and without stroke

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated factors associated with depression among elderly people with and without stroke concurrently, using identical settings, procedures and study variables. The aim was to investigate the prevalence of stroke and depression and to compare the factors associated with depression in people with and without stroke. METHODS: A postal mail survey was sent to 65-, 70-, 75- and 80-year-olds in northern Sweden and Finland in 2010 (n = 6098). Stroke was defined as answering “yes” to the question “Have you had a stroke?” Depression was defined as answering “yes” to the question “Are you depressed?” or having a Geriatric Depression Scale-4 score ≥2. Dependence in personal activities of daily living was defined as not showering without human assistance. Associations were tested with log-binomial regression. RESULTS: The overall stroke prevalence was 7.0 ± 0.3 % and increased from 4.7 ± 0.4 % among 65-year-olds to 11.6 ± 1.0 % among 80-year-olds (p < 0.001). The overall depression prevalence was 12.8 ± 0.4 % and increased from 11.0 ± 0.6 % among 65-year-olds to 18.1 ± 1.2 % among 80-year-olds (p < 0.001). Depression was more common among people with stroke (Prevalence Ratio 1.77, 95 % Confidence Interval 1.48-2.12). In the non-stroke group, depression was independently associated with diabetes, dependence in instrumental activities of daily living, living alone, not having someone to talk to, poor finances, pain problems and having a life crisis in the preceding year. In the group with stroke, depression was independently associated with dependence in personal activities of daily living and having a life crisis the preceding year. CONCLUSIONS: Depression in people without stroke appeared to be independently associated with a broader range of external factors than depression in people with stroke. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12877-016-0347-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.