Abstract
This longitudinal study was designed to evaluate the association between acute prestroke stress and the severity stroke and its outcomes including mortality, recurrence, disability and functional dependency. Patients with first‐ever stroke (FES) were recruited from the Mashhad Stroke Incidence Study. Patients were asked about any acute severe prestroke stress in the two weeks prior to index stroke. Disability and functional disability were defined using modified the Rankin Scale and Barthel Index, respectively. We used logistic and ordinal regression tests to assess the association between acute prestroke stress and study outcomes. Among 624 patients with FES, 169 reported acute prestroke stress. Patients with acute prestroke stress were younger than those without stress (60.7 ± 14.4 vs. 66.2 ± 14.7; p<0.001). The frequency of traditional vascular risk factors was not different in patients with and without acute prestroke stress. We did not find any association between acute prestroke stress and stroke outcomes. Although acute stress was common in our cohort, our results did not support an association between acute prestroke stress and the severity of stroke at admission and long‐term stroke outcomes.
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