A recent study by researchers published on March 8, 2023, proved that people carrying the symptoms of depression stand at a high risk of getting strokes. Moreover, their recovery from the same will also be worse.
This study was published in the online issue of Neurology by the author, Robert P. Murphy, an MBBS holder from the University of Galway in Ireland. He stated several crucial points about depression and its spread worldwide. The researchers pointed out how depression has impacted all around the world.
They gave a detailed study of how depression is related to the risk of getting a stroke. This link comes with the related symptoms of the patients. The life choices, daily routines, and regular use of antidepressant leads to the risk of getting a stroke. This risk of stroke is found to be similar across all age groups around the world.
During the observation and research, 26,877 adults were involved. They were from the INTERSTROKE, which includes participants from countries like Europe, the Middle East, Asia, North and South America, and Africa.
The age group of the participants was almost in the bracket of 62, and nearly 13,000 of them had a stroke earlier. This group of people with a stroke history was matched with 13,000 new people of the same age group and background but with no stroke experience.
The participants of the study were asked to complete a questionnaire that was based on cardiovascular risk, diabetes, and blood pressure. This information was collected as a survey before the examination that had details of the symptoms of depression patients. They were also asked about depression attacks or the wave of sadness in the past 12 months.
The reports showed almost 18% of the people who had depression said they had a stroke. The number with no such situation was only 14%.
The observation concluded that 46% of the people with symptoms of depression have a risk of stroke compared to the people with no sign of any symptoms.
The researchers also found out that the more symptoms the patients have, the higher the risk of getting a stroke. If a patient has one to two symptoms of depression, then there is a 35% chance of getting a stroke. If the number of symptoms changes to three, it rises to 50%. The chances of strokes go up to 54% if the symptoms of depression are more than five.
The study is limited because the questionnaire was done in the initial stage, so the changes over time are not observed, which may affect the study results.
After being a professional journalist for 5 years and understanding the ups and downs of health care sector all over the world, Kevin shifted his focus to the digital world. Today, he works as a contributor for Lone Tree Voice with a knack for covering Health & Science news in the best possible format.