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World J Psychiatry. Jun 19, 2026; 16(6): 114616
Published online Jun 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i6.114616
Published online Jun 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i6.114616
Association between vascular risk factor clustering and post-stroke depression
Jie-Dong Zhao, Chang-Wei Yu, Jia-Long Huang, Song-Wang Qiu, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen 361000, Fujian Province, China
Kai-Yan Lin, The School of Clinical Medicine, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 361000, Fujian Province, China
Co-first authors: Jie-Dong Zhao and Chang-Wei Yu.
Co-corresponding authors: Jia-Long Huang and Song-Wang Qiu.
Author contributions: Zhao JD and Qiu SW contributed to the study conception and design; Zhao JD, Yu CW, Lin KY, and Huang JL contributed to data collection; Zhao JD and Yu CW contributed to data analysis and interpretation. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Zhao JD, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University (No. 2025091649). All research procedures complied with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Informed consent statement: The requirement for signed informed consent was waived by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University due to the retrospective nature of the study. All patient data were anonymized to protect confidentiality.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Song-Wang Qiu, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, No. 55 Zhenhai Road, Xiamen 361000, Fujian Province, China.
Received: October 24, 2025
Revised: November 25, 2025
Accepted: February 2, 2026
Published online: June 19, 2026
Processing time: 216 Days and 1.8 Hours
Revised: November 25, 2025
Accepted: February 2, 2026
Published online: June 19, 2026
Processing time: 216 Days and 1.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Post-stroke depression is a common neuropsychiatric complication that seriously affects recovery and quality of life in stroke survivors. This study demonstrates that clustering of multiple vascular risk factors, rather than individual factors, is an independent predictor of post-stroke depression. A clear dose-response relationship was observed, with depression risk rising progressively as the number of vascular risk factors increased. These findings highlight the importance of comprehensive vascular risk factor assessment in routine stroke care to enable early identification and timely intervention for high-risk patients.