Prevalence and network structure of depression and its association with quality of life among older stroke survivors: findings from a national survey in China.

Background: Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a common neuropsychiatric problem associated with a high disease burden and reduced quality of life (QoL). To date, few studies have examined the network structure of depressive symptoms and their relationships with QoL in stroke survivors.

Aims: This study aimed to explore the network structure of depressive symptoms in PSD and investigate the interrelationships between specific depressive symptoms and QoL among older stroke survivors.

Methods: This study was based on the 2017-2018 collection of data from a large national survey in China. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD), while QoL was measured with the World Health Organization Quality of Life-brief version. Network analysis was employed to explore the structure of PSD, using expected influence (EI) to identify the most central symptoms and the flow function to investigate the association between depressive symptoms and QoL.

Results: A total of 1123 stroke survivors were included, with an overall prevalence of depression of 34.3% (n=385; 95% confidence interval 31.5% to 37.2%). A higher risk of PSD was significantly associated with limited activities of daily living (odds ratio (OR)=1.340; p=0.048), presence of heart diseases (OR=1.589; p=0.002) and more severe anxiety symptoms (OR=1.472; p<0.001). In the network model of depression, the most central symptoms were CESD3 ('feeling blue/depressed', EI: 1.180), CESD6 ('feeling nervous/fearful', EI: 0.864) and CESD8 ('loneliness', EI: 0.843). In addition, CESD5 ('hopelessness', EI: -0.195), CESD10 ('sleep disturbances', EI: -0.169) and CESD4 ('everything was an effort', EI: -0.150) had strong negative associations with QoL.

Conclusion: This study found that PSD was common among older Chinese stroke survivors. Given its negative impact on QoL, appropriate interventions targeting central symptoms and those associated with QoL should be developed and implemented for stroke survivors with PSD.