A BSTRACT Background: Stroke represents a major public health problem in India, with an age-adjusted prevalence of 250-350/100,000. Hope, perseverance, and positive outcomes are important in the recovery from a stroke. Similarly, depression and anxiety are common neuropsychiatric consequences of stroke, affecting nearly half of stroke survivors. There has been little exploration of the impact of survivors’ demographic data and stroke-related variables on hope, depression, anxiety, and disability in the Indian scenario. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study at a tertiary care hospital. One hundred consecutive patients with a history of cerebrovascular stroke were recruited and given self-report questionnaires. Hope was assessed using the Herth Hope Index (HHI), depression and anxiety using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and disability using the Barthel Index (BI). Statistical analysis was done using SPSS. Results: Depression and disability increased with age. Females experienced significantly more poststroke depression (PSD) ( P < 0.001), poststroke anxiety (PSA) ( P < 0.001), and disability ( P < 0.001), yet reported higher hope. Higher education was associated with better hope, less PSA, and disability ( P = 0.03), while those living alone at home or employed experienced significant PSA. Left-sided stroke was significantly associated with more PSD ( P ≤ 0.001), but higher hope and increased time since stroke predicted more disability, but lesser PSD and higher hope. PSD and PSA were reported by 35% and 26% of the survivors, respectively, while 51% experienced poststroke disability. Conclusion: Healthcare professionals need to focus on early screening and detection of depression, anxiety, and hope in stroke patients and address them.
Bhattacharjee et al. (Sun,) studied this question.