Background: Poststroke depression (PSD) is a common form of stroke patients. Whether the risk of PSD is influenced by the stroke lesion location and sex remains a matter of debate. The objective of this study was to examine the association between the risk of PSD and the stroke lesion location and sex by performing a systematic meta-analysis.
Methods: Subgroup analyses were performed according to the time interval after stroke onset to assessment for PSD. A total of 31 reports involving 5,309 subjects (for lesion location analysis) and 5,489 subjects (for sex analysis) suffering from stroke were included in this meta-analysis.
Results: The pooled odds ratio (OR) of PSD after a left-hemisphere stroke, compared with a right-hemisphere stroke was 1.11 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.82-1.49) and OR of PSD after a male stroke, compared with a female stroke was 0.68 (95% CI 0.58-0.81). Subacute poststroke subgroup (1-6 months) significantly favored PSD occurring after a left hemisphere stroke (OR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.21-1.87). Furthermore, there was a statistically significant association between PSD and female stroke for studies with acute poststroke group (OR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.62-0.86) and subacute poststroke stroke phase (OR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.56-0.86).
Conclusions: This systematic review suggests that patients with left hemisphere stroke may be more susceptible to PSD during subacute phase of stroke and female stroke may be more susceptible to PSD during acute and subacute phase of stroke.
Keywords: meta‐analysis; poststroke depression; sex; systematic review; the stroke lesion location.