One in three stroke survivors experience depression or anxiety, but no large-scale studies of real-world clinical practice have assessed whether psychological therapies are beneficial for these patients. We analyzed national healthcare records in England to evaluate the effectiveness of primary care psychological therapies for stroke survivors with common mental disorders.
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References
Towfighi, A. et al. Poststroke depression: a scientific statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke 48, e30–e43 (2017). A scientific statement presenting evidence that depression is linked to worse prognosis after stroke.
Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party. National Clinical Guideline for Stroke for the UK and Ireland. Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party www.strokeguideline.org (2023). The current UK national clinical guideline for stroke, recommending primary care psychological therapy as the first-line treatment for mood disturbance after stroke.
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This is a summary of: Suh, J. W. et al. A record-linkage study of post-stroke primary care psychological therapy effectiveness in England. Nat. Mental Health https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-025-00429-z (2025).
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Psychological therapies are effective for stroke survivors with depression and anxiety disorders. Nat. Mental Health 3, 590–591 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-025-00430-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-025-00430-6
