Associations of white matter hyperintensities with poststroke depression: A 1-year longitudinal study

Depression is common in stroke survivors and may lead to a poor prognosis and more severe functional impairment. Although subcortical white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are associated with late-life depression, few studies have examined the association between depression and WMHs after a stroke. We investigated the associations of periventricular (PVWMH) and deep (DWMH) WMHs with poststroke depression (PSD) at two time points after stroke.

A total of 408 patients were evaluated 2 weeks after stroke (baseline), and of those, 284 (70%) were followed up 1 year later. Magnetic resonance images were obtained in all subjects at baseline. PVWMHs and DWMHs were rated using the four-point modified Fazekas scale and categorized as mild (grades 0 and 1) or severe (grades 2 and 3). Depression was diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria, and subjects were divided into without PSD, any PSD, and major PSD groups at baseline, and follow-up examinations were conducted according to the severity of depression. Associations of PSD with PVWMHs and DWMHs were assessed using multivariate logistic regression analyses after adjusting for various demographic and clinical characteristics.

The adjusted analyses revealed that severe PVWMHs were significantly associated with any PSD at baseline and severe DWMHs were significantly associated with major PSD at follow-up.

The association between WMH and PSD varies according to type of WMH, and time after stroke, such that early depressive symptoms are associated with PVWMHs, and delayed severe depression is associated with DWMHs.