Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Psychiatry. Sep 19, 2026; 16(9): 120517
Published online Sep 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.120517
Published online Sep 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.120517
Predictive factors for post-cerebral infarction depression: A retrospective study of 156 patients
Jia-Yi Yang, Bo-Hong Hu, Department of Neurology, Changde Hospital, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University (The First People’s Hospital of Changde City), Changde 415000, Hunan Province, China
Fang-Zheng Liu, Department of Psychiatry, Changde Recovery Hospital, Changde 415000, Hunan Province, China
Yan-Xia Gao, Department of Nursing, Changde Hospital, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University (The First People’s Hospital of Changde City), Changde 415000, Hunan Province, China
Author contributions: Yang JY contributed to the conceptualization, study design, formal analysis, and original draft preparation; Hu BH was responsible for data collection, investigation, and manuscript review; Liu FZ performed psychiatric assessments and critically revised the manuscript; Gao YX coordinated patient follow-up and nursing data collection. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: Portions of this manuscript were edited using AI tools solely for language refinement, grammar correction, and improvement of readability. No AI tools were used for study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results, or generation of scientific content. The authors carefully reviewed and verified all AI-assisted edits and assume full responsibility and accountability for the integrity, accuracy, originality, and scientific validity of the manuscript and all submitted materials.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Changde Hospital, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University (The First People’s Hospital of Changde City, Approval No. 2025-249-01).
Informed consent statement: The requirement for written informed consent was waived by the Institutional Ethics Committee, due to the retrospective design of the study and the use of anonymized clinical data.
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. No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Yan-Xia Gao, Department of Nursing, Changde Hospital, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University (The First People’s Hospital of Changde City), No. 818 Renmin Road, Changde 415000, Hunan Province, China. 18569106000@163.com
Received: April 8, 2026
Revised: June 1, 2026
Accepted: June 23, 2026
Published online: September 19, 2026
Processing time: 138 Days and 0.6 Hours
Revised: June 1, 2026
Accepted: June 23, 2026
Published online: September 19, 2026
Processing time: 138 Days and 0.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a common and disabling complication after cerebral infarction, but early prediction of PSD remains challenging. In this cohort of 156 patients, we demonstrated clinical, neuroimaging and biological predictors most notably low serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor and high interleukin-6 levels which independently predict PSD at three months. A combination predictive model showed high diagnostic accuracy. These findings support early multidimensional risk stratification and indicate that easily measurable biomarkers can aid the screening of PSD and improve targeted early treatment in high-risk stroke survivors.