The Association Between Systemic Inflammatory Markers and Post-Stroke Depression: A Prospective Stroke Cohort

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Immunology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Inflammation is a key factor in stroke pathology.
• Peripheral inflammatory markers correlate with stroke severity and prognosis.
• Comprehensive models for evaluating post-stroke depression (PSD) are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare systemic inflammation marker levels between PSD and non-PSD patients.
• To investigate the association between inflammatory markers and PSD occurrence.

Main Methods:

• 432 ischemic stroke patients were enrolled with 1-month follow-up.
• Post-stroke depression (PSD) diagnosed using the Hamilton Depression Scale (score >7).
• Systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR) were calculated from admission blood work.

Main Results:

• 129 patients (30.5%) were diagnosed with PSD.
• PSD patients exhibited significantly higher SII, NLR, dNLR, and PLR levels compared to non-PSD patients.
• Logistic analysis identified SII (>547.30) as an independent predictor of PSD, outperforming other markers.

Conclusions:

• Increased SII, PLR, dNLR, and NLR are significantly correlated with PSD.
• Systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) at admission is particularly associated with PSD.
• These inflammatory markers may offer prognostic value for early PSD identification.