Depression, Anxiety, and Phobia of COVID-19 in Post-stroke Patients during COVID-19 Pandemic

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to assess depression, anxiety, and coronaphobia in post-stroke patients and to explore the potential influencing factors.
METHODS: The study included patients aged ≥18 years who had a clinical diagnosis of stroke with a mini-mental state examination score ≥24 and were able to communicate in Turkish on the telephone. Coronaphobia was assessed with the COVID-19 phobia scale (CP19-S), while anxiety and depression were evaluated with the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS).
RESULTS: The HADS scores showed that 45.5% of patients had a severe risk for depression while 19.5% had a severe risk for anxiety. According to the results of binary logistic regression analysis, risk factors for depression are anxiety and coronaphobia. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that Barthel index levels and anxiety were found to predict coronaphobia, while depression and coronaphobia were found to predict anxiety.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Post-stroke patients, particularly younger, physically independent or partially dependent, and unemployed patients, are psychologically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Early detection of psychological problems and their risk factors might help predict long-term outcomes and could pioneer early interventions of rehabilitation treatment strategies; it may also contribute to the protection of mental health.