Understanding non-traditional stroke outcomes that matter - poststroke depression, cognitive impairment, and sleep disturbance

• Main Author: Chan, Lai Gwen
• Other Authors: Balázs Zoltán Gulyás
• Format: Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Science::Medicine
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/171189
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This thesis is a pioneering, detailed, epidemiological characterization of poststroke depression (PSD), poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) and poststroke poor sleep, as well as a description of long-term stroke outcomes and their potential modifiers, in a representative Singapore stroke sample through the analysis of data from a retrospective stroke cohort and through the cross-sectional study of chronic stroke patients compared with a control group by propensity score matching. Results from this thesis show that PSD, PSCI and poststroke sleep are highly prevalent and correlated but the relationship is dynamic, hence they are therapeutic targets to improve stroke outcomes in the short-term. Longer-term stroke outcomes may be modified by targeting sleep and social isolation and by integrating psychiatric care with routine stroke care during hospitalization. There is ample data generated that can improve current clinical practice and there exists a need to characterize other non-motor stroke outcomes in our local population.