Poststroke Anxiety is Prevalent at the Population Level,Especially among Socially Deprived and Younger Age Community Stroke Survivors

Abstract

Background

Most studies of poststroke anxiety prevalence are hospital based, so knowledge of anxiety in community stroke survivors is limited. Few studies address the association between poststroke anxiety and patient age. No study has explored the relationship between poststroke anxiety prevalence and social deprivation.

Aims

This study aims to describe population level prevalence data of poststroke anxiety and to explore association of poststroke anxiety prevalence with patient age, gender, and social deprivation.

Methods

Observational study of 3831 community stroke survivors attending general practice reviews from April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 in Greater Glasgow, United Kingdom. Univariate and multivariate analyses investigated the association between poststroke anxiety prevalence (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale: anxiety sub-scale [HADS-A]), age, gender, and deprivation variables.

Results

Six hundred eighteen (16·1%) of 3831 community-dwelling stroke survivors had definite abnormal mood on HADS-A (≥11), with 952 (31·5%) scoring ≥8. Sixty-five (35·5%) of stroke survivors aged under 50 years had definite abnormal mood on HADS-A compared with 59 (7·2%) of over 80 year olds. Three hundred forty (19·8%) of women had definite abnormal mood on HADS-A compared with 278 (13·1%) of men. Three hundred seventy-two (22·6%) of most deprived stroke survivors had definite abnormal mood on HADS-A compared with 49 (7·6%) of least deprived. Age, gender, and social deprivation all contributed significantly to HADS-A score variance.

Conclusion

Using a conservative HADS-A cutoff, a high prevalence of definite abnormal anxiety in community stroke survivors is observed. This prevalence increases markedly in younger and more socially deprived stroke survivors.

Keywords

anxiety cognition depression prevalence stroke

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