Phenomenological comparisons of major depression following stroke, myocardial infarction or spinal cord lesions

• Published in: Journal of affective disorders 1991-05, Vol.22 (1), p.83-89
• Main Authors: Fedoroff, J.Paul, Lipsey, John R., Starkstein, Sergio E., Forrester, Alfred, Price, Thomas R., Robinson, Robert G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Cerebral Infarction - complications; Cerebral Infarction - psychology; Cerebrovascular Disorders - complications; Cerebrovascular Disorders - psychology; Depressive Disorder - diagnosis; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Female; Humans; Intracranial Embolism and Thrombosis - complications; Intracranial Embolism and Thrombosis - psychology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Myocardial infarction; Myocardial Infarction - complications; Myocardial Infarction - psychology; Neurocognitive Disorders - diagnosis; Neurocognitive Disorders - psychology; Organic mental disorders. Neuropsychology; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - statistics & numerical data; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Risk Factors; Sick Role; Social Environment; Spinal Cord Injuries - complications; Spinal Cord Injuries - psychology; Spinal cord lesions; Stroke
• ISSN: 0165-0327
• DOI: 10.1016/0165-0327(91)90088-A

Patients with major depression admitted to hospital with acute stroke ( n = 44), acute myocardial infarction ( n = 25), or acute spinal cord injury ( n = 12) were examined for differences in their phenomenological presentation of major depression. Depressed stroke patients were found to have significantly higher scores on the syndrome clusters for generalized anxiety and ideas of reference than depressed cardiac or spinal cord injury patients. In addition, significantly more stroke patients met diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety disorder compared with the other two groups. Although spinal cord injury patients were younger, more likely to be treated with benzodiazepines, and less likely to be treated with β-blockers, none of these factors distinguished stroke patients with anxious depression from stroke patients with depression only. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the etiology of depression following stroke may be different from that associated with myocardial infarction or spinal cord injury.