The Role of Short Term Psychological and Somatic Anxiety in the Prediction of Long Term Anxiety of Early Hospital Discharged Patients with Complete Functional Recovery after a Mild Stroke

Abstract

Few previous investigations have focused on post-stroke anxiety (PSA) predictors in mild stroke patients. The aim of the study was to determine whether anxiety-related psychological symptoms and psychomotor agitation predict PSA. We compared 10 anxious and 10 non-anxious patients at 6 months post-stroke (T2) to their psychological anxiety and psychomotor agitation levels 3 months earlier (T1). Anxious patients had more psychological anxiety symptoms than non-anxious patients. Overall T2 anxiety was strongly correlated with T1 psychological anxiety. Thus, psychological symptoms are a better predictor of PSA than somatic symptoms of anxiety. Those results could improve PSA diagnosis and prognosis by directing clinicians to pay particular attention to psychological anxiety after a stroke, even in early discharged patients with complete functional recovery.

Keywords

• anxiety
• predictors
• screening
• early recovery
• early hospital discharge
• mild stroke