Effect of Post-stroke Depression on Functional Outcomes of Patients With Stroke in the Rehabilitation Ward: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of post-stroke depression in a rehabilitation ward and elucidate its effect on functional improvement and outcomes.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A convalescent rehabilitation ward at a University Hospital.

Participants: A total of 114 patients with stroke (mean [SD] age, 67.2 [13.5] years; men, 76) assessed at 2 weeks after admission using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview were enrolled.

Main Outcome Measure: Functional independence measure (FIM) efficiency during hospitalization in the ward.

Results: Eleven patients (9.6%) had depression based on the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Total FIM efficiency and FIM efficiency in the subtotal of motor items were significantly higher in the non-depression group than in the depression group (median [interquartile range]: 0.69 [0.39-0.95] vs 0.41 [0.24-0.63], =.027; and 0.56 [0.38-0.80] vs 0.42 [0.18-0.49], =.023, respectively). Patients in the non-depression group had higher FIM scores at discharge (median [interquartile range]: 116.0 [104.5-123.0] vs 104.0 [82.5-112.0], =.013, respectively), and were more likely to be discharged home (80.6% vs 36.4%, =.003). Furthermore, patients in the depression group also stayed significantly longer in the ward (71.0 [36.1] vs 106.1 [43.3], =.010).

Conclusions: Patients with post-stroke depression showed poorer efficiency of functional recovery than those without depression. A future multicenter study with a larger sample size is needed to verify these findings.