Depression may play a role in stroke risk
By Bruce Bower
Feelings of hopelessness and other signs of major depression markedly raise a person’s likelihood of suffering a stroke, according to a new analysis of data from a long-term study.
Over an average follow-up period of 16 years, the initial presence of symptoms of major depression raised the relative risk of incurring a stroke about as much as did a 40-point increase in systolic blood pressure, say epidemiologists Bruce S. Jonas and Michael E. Mussolino, both of the National Center for Health Statistics.