The Correlation between Depression, Balance, and Physical Functioning Post Stroke

Background and Objective: Depression, imbalance, and physical disability are among the serious stroke sequels. The objective of this study was to examine the correlation between depression, balance, and self-reported physical performance in patients post stroke. Methods: The Arabic versions of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Dynamic Gait Index (A-DGI), and physical Stroke Impact Scale-16 version 3 were administered to a convenience sample of patients post stroke. The correlation between the mentioned measures was calculated using the Pearson coefficient. Additionally, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to find out if the distribution of measurement scores differs among BDI levels of depression intensity or among Orpington Prognostic Scale (OPS) levels of stroke severity. Results: Sixty-one patients with stroke (mean age [standard deviation] = 64 [12] years, 39 male) were recruited. Significant moderate correlations were found between BDI and A-DGI, BDI and Stroke Impact Scale (SIS), and A-DGI and physical SIS. Additionally, the distribution of the A-DGI and the physical SIS scores showed significant differences among BDI levels of depression intensity. Moreover, the distribution of the BDI, A-DGI, and physical SIS scores showed significant differences among OPS levels of stroke severity. Conclusions: Depressive symptoms were found frequent among people post stroke and were associated with balance and self-reported physical performance.