Frontal infarcts and anxiety in stroke.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study examined the association between poststroke anxiety symptoms (PSA) and frontal lobe infarcts. METHODS: A cohort of 693 patients was recruited. PSA was defined as an anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score of 8 or above. The presence and location of infarcts were evaluated with MRI. RESULTS: Compared with the non-PSA group, PSA patients were more likely to have right frontal acute infarcts. Right frontal infarcts remained independent predictors of PSA in the multivariate analysis, with an odds ratio of 4.44 (P=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that right frontal acute infarcts may play a role in the development of PSA.