Abstract Body: Introduction: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) may be associated with feelings of anxiety and/or depression (A/D) in subsequent months. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of feelings of A/D after AIS longitudinally and to identify risk factors that may predict post-stroke feelings of A/D.

Methods: Data were collected from patients with AIS at a stroke center from 2016-2022. Patients were excluded if <18 years old, did not fill out the EQ-5D, or who were deceased or designated as comfort measures only upon hospital discharge. Patient demographics, medical history, stroke anatomic location, and pre-morbid modified Rankin score, a score of functional status, were collected during hospital admission. A/D was the outcome of interest and was collected via the self-reported EQ-5D. It is scored from 1-3, with 1 indicating no perceived problems, 2 indicating feelings of being moderately anxious or depressed, and 3 indicating feelings of being extremely anxious or depressed. Scores were dichotomized with a score of 1 representing no feelings of A/D and a score of 2 or 3 indicating any feelings of A/D. We built a multivariate logistic regression model using the collected covariates to predict the odds of feelings of A/D 3-months post-stroke.

Results: The cohort was 1,225 patients. The prevalence of feelings of A/D was 38.7% at 3-months after stroke. Compared to those without feelings of A/D at 3-months, patients with feelings of A/D were more frequently female (56.5% vs 43.14%, p<0.0001), Hispanic (9.8% vs 5.5%, p=0.014), had NIHSS > 10 (33.7% vs 24.4%, p=0.0006), had prior stroke (22.1% vs 16.6%, p=0.025), and had a history of drug use (12.4% vs 8.2%, p=0.0486). In the adjusted multivariate model, female sex (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.27-2.43), non-White race (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.04-1.41), Hispanic ethnicity (OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.05-3.36), absence of atrial fibrillation (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.08-3.03), anticoagulation use (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.18-3.57), and statin non-use (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.09-2.34) were significant, independent predictors of feelings of A/D at 3-months post-stroke.

Conclusions: Over one in three patients experience feelings of A/D at 3-months after stroke. We identified predictors of feelings of A/D at 3-months post-stroke. Our findings are hypothesis-generating and require further study. Understanding the factors that may predispose patients to have feelings of A/D post-stroke may enhance screening efforts, particularly in these high-risk groups.