Characteristics of anxiety and psychological well-being in chronic post-stroke patients

Background and purpose Anxiety and depression are common psychological conditions in post-stroke patients. In the present study, their relation with perceived quality of life and psychophysical well-being was investigated. Methods In the present cross-sectional study, chronic post-stroke patients (n = 81; average years from stroke = 4 ± 4.6) were assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the 36-item Short-Form Healthy Survey (SF-36) and the Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI), as well as a brief neuropsychological assessment focused on the thinking ability and executive functions. Results Higher levels of anxiety compared to depressive symptoms were found. Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that SF-36 predicts neither anxiety nor depression, and PGWBI subscales only partially. Conclusion Post-stroke anxiety can be a largely observed psychological distress in chronic patients: this pattern would be interpreted in relation to patients' expectations about their health status during a rehabilitation follow-up. SF-36 and PGWBI questionnaires did not provide satisfactory and reliable indexes: the relation between anxiety and both quality of life and psychological well-being needs further exploration.