Post-stroke Depression: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Risk Factors, and Management

Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a widely encountered complexity of stroke, which is of notable importance. PSD ismultifactorial in origin; however, depression after stroke is unrecognized, infrequently diagnosed, and undertreated. Thisreview presents epidemiology, diagnosis and diagnostic tools, risk factors, and management of PSD. About one-third ofpatients experience depression after stroke. It is important to reliably screen and diagnose post-stroke depression aswell as measure its severity. PSD is associated with various risk factors and stroke characteristics. If left untreated, PSDcan worsen several other common post-stroke conditions. There is strong evidence that early initiation of antidepressanttherapy in non-depressed stroke patients is associated with reduced risk for the development and effective preventionof post-stroke depression. PSD needs special attention, and consensus should be reached regarding the diagnosis andmanagement of PSD.