GENDER DIFFERENCES IN POSTSTROKE DEPRESSION

In stroke and other medical illnesses, secondary depression may be ass ociated with different factors in women than in men. The authors exami ned 301 consecutive admissions for acute treatment of cerebrovascular accident for gender differences in depression, psychosocial factors, p hysical impairment, and lesion location. Women were twice as frequentl y diagnosed with major depression as men. Women with major depression had a greater frequency of left hemisphere lesions than men. In men, m ajor depression was associated with greater impairment in activities o f daily living, and greater severity of depression was associated with greater impairment in daily activities and social functioning. In wom en, greater severity of depression was associated with prior diagnosis of psychiatric disorder and cognitive impairment. These findings sugg est a different nature of poststroke depression in men and women and m ay have implications for its treatment.