The Effects of Depressive Symptoms in Patients with Stroke on Health-Related Quality of Life

Introduction: Post-stroke depressive symptoms are common in stroke patients and they can adversely affect their quality of life. Aim: The study was conducted for the purpose of investigating the effects of depressive symptoms on health-related quality of life in stroke patients. Method: The research is a descriptive study. The research sample consisted of 100 stroke patients who were admitted to the neurology department of a university hospital. Data were obtained using Structured Questionnaire Form, Beck Depression Inventory, the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, and Barthel ADL Index. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Pearson correlation test. Results: The mean age of the participants was 60.60 ± 14.40 and 58% of them was male. Forty-six percent of the group had a 1-4-year duration of living with stroke diagnosis. Thirty-eight percent of the sample was highly dependent on daily living activities and six percent were fully dependent on daily living activities. The mean of Beck Depression Inventory revealed that the stroke patients experienced severe depressive symptoms (23.63 ± 12.54). Physical Role Difficulty (6.75 ± 22.98) and Emotional Role Difficulty (9.30 ± 24.16) sub-dimensions of quality of life scale were found more adversely affected. Statistically significant differences were found between scores of Physical Function (p < 0.001) and Social Function subscales in terms of levels of depressive symptoms (p < 0.05). The depressive symptom levels of stroke patients who were highly or completely dependent on daily living activities were higher (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The study results revealed that high depressive symptom in patients with stroke negatively affected their health-related quality of life