Race/ethnic Differences in Post-Stroke Depression (PSD): Findings from the Stroke Warning Information and Faster Treatment (SWIFT) Study

Objectives: Post-stroke depression (PSD) is common and associated with poor stroke outcomes, but few studies have examined race/ethnic disparities in PSD. Given the paucity of work and inconsistent findings in this important area of research, this study aims to examine race/ethnic differences in depression in a multi-ethnic cohort of stroke patients. Design: Longitudinal. Setting: Prospective trial of a post-stroke educational intervention. Patients or Participants: 1,193 mild/moderate ischemic stroke/TIA patients. Main Outcome Measures: We used the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale to assess subthreshold (CES-D score 8-15) and full (CES-D score ≥ 16) depression at one month (“early”) and 12 months (“late”) following stroke. Multinomial logistic regression analysis examined the association between race/ethnicity and early and late PSD separately. Results: The prevalence of subthreshold and full PSD was 22.5% and 32.6% in the early period and 22.0% and 27.4% in the late period, respectively. Hispanics had 40% the odds of early full PSD compared with non-Hispanic Whites after adjusting for other covariates (OR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.22, 0.76). Race/ethnicity was not significantly associated with late PSD. Conclusions: Hispanic stroke patients had half the odds of PSD in early period compared with whites, but no difference was found in the later period. Further studies comparing trajectories of PSD between race/ethnic groups may further our understanding of race/ethnic disparities in PSD and help identify effective interventions. Ethn Dis. 2016;26(1):1-8; doi:10.18865/ed.26.1.1