Prospective Study of Depressive Symptoms and Risk of Stroke Among Japanese

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Abstract
Background and Purpose —We sought to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and the incidence of stroke among Japanese men and women. Methods —A 10.3-year prospective study on the relationship between depressive symptoms and the incidence of stroke was conducted with 901 men and women aged 40 to 78 years in a rural Japanese community. Depressive symptoms were measured at baseline with the use of the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). The incidence of stroke was ascertained under systematic surveillance. Results —During the 10-year follow-up, 69 strokes (39 ischemic strokes, 10 intracerebral hemorrhages, 10 subarachnoid hemorrhages, and 10 unclassified strokes) occurred. Age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of mild depression (SDS scores ≥40) at baseline was 25% among subjects with incident stroke and 12% among subjects without stroke ( P Conclusions —Depressive symptoms predict the risk of stroke, specifically ischemic stroke among Japanese.