Research published in Stroke (January 2007) examined the relationship between depressive symptoms and stroke risk in participants from the Framingham Heart Study. More than 4,000 adults were followed for an average of eight years.
Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The average score among participants was six, while approximately 11% of subjects scored 16 or higher—a threshold commonly used to indicate clinically significant depressive symptoms.
Over the course of the study, 144 strokes and 84 transient ischemic attacks (TIAs, often referred to as “mini-strokes”) were recorded. Among participants younger than 65 years, those with CES-D scores of 16 or higher were nearly four times more likely to experience a stroke compared with individuals in the same age group who had lower depression scores.
These findings suggest that depressive symptoms may be linked with an increased risk of stroke in younger adults. As an observational study, the results do not establish causation, but they highlight the potential importance of psychological health as part of overall cardiovascular risk assessment.
