Early detection of patients at risk for anxiety, depression and apathy after stroke

A study of the validity and the reliability of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory in screening for anxiety after stroke in older inpatients

“…The optimal cut-off for the GAI with respect to SCID diagnosis was 6/7. This is lower than in an older adult psychiatric sample (17), but is consistent with other studies of anxiety after stroke (22,(28)(29)(30). At this cut-off acceptable sensitivity and specificity was evident, and superior to the comparison instrument the HADS-A.…”

“…At this cut-off acceptable sensitivity and specificity was evident, and superior to the comparison instrument the HADS-A. The HADS-A has demonstrated higher specificity in other studies of people with stroke (22,(28)(29)(30) however in none of these were participants restricted to older people. The current findings support the concerns expressed about the utility of the HADS-A when used with people aged 65 years and over (15,16).…”

Poststroke Apathy

“…[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] Assessment of the risk of bias per study is provided in Appendix SIII in the online-only Data Supplement.…”

“…In 3 studies, the association between apathy and other concurrent neuropsychiatric symptoms was assessed, but none were found. 27,36,42 In one study, personality before stroke was assessed, and no association with apathy was found. 37 More research on the interplay between other factors, such as fatigue and apathy, is needed to further elucidate the nosological position of poststroke apathy.…”

Literature and Art Therapy in Post-Stroke Psychological Disorders

“…Mood changes due to stroke include depression and anxiety (Sagen et al 2010). Depression can be viewed as a mood disorder characterized by chronic sadness or loss of enjoyment and is usually more severe in patients with higher socio-economic status (Lenzi et al 2008).…”