The Association between Post-Stroke Depression and the Activities of Daily Living/Gait Balance in Patients with First-Onset Stroke Patients

This study evaluated the association between post-stroke depression (PSD) and clinical outcomes, including activities of daily living (ADL) and gait balance, in patients with first-onset stroke. One hundred and eighty inpatients were recruited and followed-up for a 6-month. The depressive, cognitive, and stroke symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS), the modified Rankin Scale (MRS), and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). All patients were assessed at baseline and at the end of the observation (6-month). Among 180 patients, 127 (70.6%) were diagnosed with minimal-to-mild depression (MMD) while 53 (29.4%) were diagnosed with moderate-to-severe depression (MSD). The odd ratio (OR) for poor outcome in the MSD group was approximately 3.7 relative to the MMD group. The proportion of patients with better balance classified by the BBS score at 6-month was significantly higher in the MMD group than in the MSD group (OR=1.375). Our findings demonstrate the potential relationship between PSD and rehabilitation outcomes measured by different rating scales in Korean stroke patients. Our study suggests that clinicians should carefully evaluate depressive symptoms in patients with stroke during routine clinical practice. Adequately-powered and well-controlled further studies are necessary to confirm and fully characterize this relationship.