The Association Between Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte Ratio and Post-Stroke Depression.

BACKGROUND:Post-stroke depression (PSD) is the most common complication occurring among stroke survivors. It has been shown that increased neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with depression. We explored the relationship between NLR and PSD.METHODS:In total, 299 ischemic stroke patients were consecutively enrolled in the study and received 1 month follow-up. The 17-Hamilton Rating Scale was used to measure depressive symptoms at 1 month after stroke. With the Hamilton Depression Scale score of >7, parents were given the DSM-IV criteria for diagnosis of PSD. NLR was computered from the admission blood work. Meanwhile, the control group consisted of 180 healthy volunteers was also recruited.RESULTS:Seventy-eight patients (26.1%) were diagnosed with PSD at 1 month. PSD patients showed significantly higher levels of NLRs at admission as compared to non-PSD patients as well as normal controls (P < .001). In the logistic analysis, taking NLR values (<3.701) a reference and PSD presence as a dependent variable, NLR values (≥3.70 l) were independently associated with the development of PSD (OR 4.038, 95% CI 2.174-7.500, p < .001).CONCLUSIONS:Increased NLRs at admission are found to be correlated with PSD and may add prognostic information for the early discovery of PSD.