Bidirectional Relationship between Transient Ischemic Attacks and Depression: A Review

Abstract

Background

An association between cerebrovascular events and psychiatric disorders has been reported. However, the focus has centered on stroke, and there has been a lack of attention to a possible relationship between transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) and depression.

Methods

We conducted a review of studies that looked specifically at the risk of depression after TIAs and the risk of TIAs in patients with depression. A total of 8 studies were identified, 4 examining the occurrence of depression following a TIA, and 4 examining the occurrence of TIAs after the onset of depression.

Results

There was a bidirectional effect: 3 of 4 studies showed an increased risk of TIAs in patients with depression, and 4 of 4 studies found an increase of depression following a TIA. The percentage of patients having a TIA from the pool of patients with depression was 3.18%. The percentage of patients who developed depression after a TIA in the pooled samples was 6.88%.

Conclusions

Both depression and TIAs are serious medical disorders and they appear to have a bidirectional relationship. Further clinical and neurobiological studies in this area are warranted.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Weinberger

Gbedemah

Martinez

et al. Trends in depression prevalence in the USA from 2005 to 2015: widening disparities in vulnerable groups. Psychol Med. 2018; 48: 1308–1315.

Johnston

Fayad

Gorelick

. Prevalence and knowledge of transient ischemic attack among US adults. Neurology. 2003; 60: 1429–1434.

Easton

Saver

Albers

; American Heart Association; American Stroke Association Stroke Council; Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia; Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention; Council on Cardiovascular Nursing; Interdisciplinary Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease. Definition and evaluation of transient ischemic attack: a scientific statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association Stroke Council; Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia; Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention; Council on Cardiovascular Nursing; and the Interdisciplinary Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease. The American Academy of Neurology affirms the value of this statement as an educational tool for neurologists. Stroke. 2009; 40: 2276–2293.

Daskalopoulou

George

Walters

. Depression as a risk factor for the initial presentation of twelve cardiac, cerebrovascular, and peripheral arterial diseases: data linkage study of 1.9 million women and men. PLoS One. 2016; 11: e0153838. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153838.

May

McCarron

Stansfeld

. Does psychological distress predict the risk of ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack? The Caerphilly Study. Stroke. 2002; 33: 7–12.

Arima

Bertmar

. Depression but not anxiety predicts recurrent cerebrovascular events. Acta Neurol Scand. 2016; 134: 29–34.

Salaycik

Kelly-Hayes

Beiser

. Depressive symptoms and risk of stroke: The Framingham Study. Stroke. 2007; 38: 16–21.

El Husseini N, Goldstein LB, Peterson ED, . Depression and antidepressant use after stroke and transient ischemic attack. Stroke. 2012; 43: 1609–1616.

Broomfield

Quinn

Abdul-Rahim

. Depression and anxiety symptoms post-stroke/ TIA: prevalence and associations in cross-sectional data from a regional stroke registry. BMC Neurol. 2014; 14: 198.

10.

K-Y

Liu

C-Y

Chau

Y-L

. Transient ischemic attack and incidence of depression in old age: evidence from a population-based analysis in Taiwan. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2010; 18: 382–387.

11.

Luijendijk

Stricker

BHC

Wieberdink

. Transient ischemic attack and incident depression. Stroke. 2011; 42: 1857-1861.

12.

Guo

Chen

. Regional homogeneity abnormalities in patients with transient ischaemic attack: A resting-state fMRI study. Clin Neurophysiol. 2014; 125: 520–525.

13.

Sheline

Pieper

Barch

. Support for the vascular depression hypothesis in late-life depression: results of a 2-site, prospective, antidepressant treatment trial. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010; 67: 277–285.