Posters
Presenting Author Academic/Professional Position
Medical Student
Academic Level (Author 1)
Medical Student
Academic Level (Author 2)
Medical Student
Academic Level (Author 3)
Medical Student
Academic Level (Author 4)
Medical Student
Academic Level (Author 5)
Medical Student
Presentation Type
Poster
Discipline Track
Clinical Science
Abstract Type
Research/Clinical
Abstract
Background: Strokes, also known as cerebral infarctions, are life-threatening emergencies. They involve blockage of blood flow to the brain and require prompt and critical management to prevent permanent damage or death. The long-term effects of a stroke may include impaired speech, restricted physical mobility, as well as depression and anxiety. The prevalence of anxiety and depression after a stroke is estimated between 20-25% and 20-40% of patients respectively. Just as it is imperative to treat strokes as they transpire, it is equally important to initiate appropriate rehabilitation and therapy targeting post-stroke psychiatric outcomes. The Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) are standardized and commonly used questionnaires screening for depression and anxiety symptoms, providing enlightening insight into the mental health status of patients. The purpose of this study is to perform a retrospective analysis of mental health outcomes of stroke patients in the Rio Grande Valley within the past five years and investigate any particular stroke characteristics that may be tied to worsening outcomes.
Methods: Patient chart data from 2019 to 2024 was gathered from several UTHealth RGV sites. This data included patient demographics, year of diagnosis, and the specific ICD-10 code each patient was diagnosed with. ICD-10 stroke codes included in the data request are as follows: Ischemic = I63, Hemorrhagic = I61. Patients who were also co-diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression were also included with the following codes: Anxiety = F41.0, F41.1, etc, Depression = F33.0, F33.1, F33.2, etc. Specific PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores were also gathered for these patients if applicable. Initial descriptive analysis was conducted through Microsoft Excel while measures of statistical association will be further evaluated through SPSS.
Results: In total, 1704 patients were diagnosed with a stroke, 1526 (89.5%) met the criteria of being diagnosed with an ischemic stroke while 178 (10.4%) unique patients were diagnosed with a hemorrhagic stroke. Within the ischemic stroke group, 128 patients were assigned ICD-10 codes associated with only anxiety, 16 patients with only depression, 10 with both anxiety and depression, and 1372 without a diagnosis of either. In the hemorrhagic stroke group, 15 patients had only anxiety, 1 had only depression, 3 had both, and 159 had neither. Results from GAD-7, PHQ-9, and stroke location are to follow.
Conclusion: The results of this study were greatly limited by the lack of GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores for patients despite being diagnosed with the relevant ICD-10 code. It is possible that providers based their diagnosis on clinical features rather than the questionnaires. It is also a possibility that patients were not screened for either anxiety or depression. Therefore, future clinical management should include screening for both anxiety and depression due to their prevalence in stroke patients.
Recommended Citation
Malbas, Maria Sophia Zaraspe; McAdams, Allison J.; Paz, Julia; Quintanilla, Miguel; Zamora, Karina Y.; Duddu, Sowmya; and Baker, Kelsey, "The Influence of Stroke Characteristics on GAD-7 and PHQ-9 Scores: A Retrospective Analysis in the Rio Grande Valley" (2025). Research Symposium. 100.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/somrs/2025/posters/100
Included in
The Influence of Stroke Characteristics on GAD-7 and PHQ-9 Scores: A Retrospective Analysis in the Rio Grande Valley
Background: Strokes, also known as cerebral infarctions, are life-threatening emergencies. They involve blockage of blood flow to the brain and require prompt and critical management to prevent permanent damage or death. The long-term effects of a stroke may include impaired speech, restricted physical mobility, as well as depression and anxiety. The prevalence of anxiety and depression after a stroke is estimated between 20-25% and 20-40% of patients respectively. Just as it is imperative to treat strokes as they transpire, it is equally important to initiate appropriate rehabilitation and therapy targeting post-stroke psychiatric outcomes. The Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) are standardized and commonly used questionnaires screening for depression and anxiety symptoms, providing enlightening insight into the mental health status of patients. The purpose of this study is to perform a retrospective analysis of mental health outcomes of stroke patients in the Rio Grande Valley within the past five years and investigate any particular stroke characteristics that may be tied to worsening outcomes.
Methods: Patient chart data from 2019 to 2024 was gathered from several UTHealth RGV sites. This data included patient demographics, year of diagnosis, and the specific ICD-10 code each patient was diagnosed with. ICD-10 stroke codes included in the data request are as follows: Ischemic = I63, Hemorrhagic = I61. Patients who were also co-diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression were also included with the following codes: Anxiety = F41.0, F41.1, etc, Depression = F33.0, F33.1, F33.2, etc. Specific PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores were also gathered for these patients if applicable. Initial descriptive analysis was conducted through Microsoft Excel while measures of statistical association will be further evaluated through SPSS.
Results: In total, 1704 patients were diagnosed with a stroke, 1526 (89.5%) met the criteria of being diagnosed with an ischemic stroke while 178 (10.4%) unique patients were diagnosed with a hemorrhagic stroke. Within the ischemic stroke group, 128 patients were assigned ICD-10 codes associated with only anxiety, 16 patients with only depression, 10 with both anxiety and depression, and 1372 without a diagnosis of either. In the hemorrhagic stroke group, 15 patients had only anxiety, 1 had only depression, 3 had both, and 159 had neither. Results from GAD-7, PHQ-9, and stroke location are to follow.
Conclusion: The results of this study were greatly limited by the lack of GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores for patients despite being diagnosed with the relevant ICD-10 code. It is possible that providers based their diagnosis on clinical features rather than the questionnaires. It is also a possibility that patients were not screened for either anxiety or depression. Therefore, future clinical management should include screening for both anxiety and depression due to their prevalence in stroke patients.
