Men more prone to depression following strokes
Researchers from several universities, including UC, say a new study shows men are at a greater risk of depression than women following a stroke.
Assistant professor of social work Michael McCarthy theorizes there's a connection between depression and mens' beliefs about their familial roles.
“People tend to focus on physical, cognitive functioning – and those are very important – but I think what we tried to get at is that there’s another class of factors that are associated with depression including health beliefs and ambiguity, uncertainty about the future that may be just as important as some of the traditional factors that predict how well people are going to do following stroke.”
McCarthy says the results could affect the way doctors treat stroke survivors.
“At a minimum clinicians, physicians, allied health people need to recognize that some of these health beliefs can actually have a tangible impact on outcomes for patients.”
He says further research is needed and could begin this academic year.
The results are published in today's edition of the journal Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.