Personality and Vulnerability to Depression in Stroke Patients

Abstract

Background and Purpose— Depression is a frequent sequela of stroke that negatively interferes with rehabilitation outcome. Personality traits have been neglected as potential vulnerability factors for poststroke depression (PSD). In a 1-year prospective study, the influence of the 5 main personality traits (ie, neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) on the development of PSD was studied. Methods— One month after stroke, 190 consecutive patients with a first-ever supratentorial infarct were asked to complete a personality inventory, the NEO-Five Factor Inventory, which is based on the Five Factor Model of personality. Depressive symptoms were assessed 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after stroke with 3 self-rating questionnaires as screening instruments for depression. PSD was diagnosed as major or minor depression through the use of the Structured Clinical Interview from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Results— The 1-year cumulative incidence of dep...