Clarifying the associations between anxiety, depression and fatigue following stroke

J Health Psychol. 2016 Dec;21(12):2863-2871. doi: 10.1177/1359105315587140. Epub 2015 Jun 29.

Abstract

Both psychological distress and fatigue are common post stroke. Although there is recognition that the phenomena are related, the nature of the relationship is unclear.Cross-sectional study of 98 independently functioning participants within 2 years of stroke. Significant relationships were observed between fatigue and general anxiety, health-related anxiety and stroke-specific anxiety (r range from .31 to .37). In the final regression model, depression, pain and stroke-specific anxiety were significant, accounting for 32 per cent of the variance in fatigue scores (p < .001). The findings provide insight into the importance of anxiety-related factors post stroke, their relevance to our understanding of post-stroke fatigue and their implications for post-stroke intervention.

Keywords: anxiety; fatigue; stroke.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Anxiety / etiology*
  • Anxiety / psychology
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Depression / etiology*
  • Depression / psychology
  • Fatigue / etiology*
  • Fatigue / psychology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Risk Factors
  • Stroke / complications
  • Stroke / psychology*