Associations of C-reactive protein with depressive symptoms over time after mild to moderate ischemic stroke in the PROSCIS-B cohort

Background and purpose C-reactive protein serves as a marker of inflammation and is linked to depression in the general population. We aimed to assess whether elevated baseline levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) are associated with depressive symptoms over time in a prospective cohort of mild-to-moderate first-ever ischemic stroke patients. Methods Data were obtained from the Prospective Cohort with Incident Stroke Berlin (NCT01363856). Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) at three annual follow-up points. We assessed the association of elevated levels of hs-CRP with CES-D scores over time via linear mixed models. In a subgroup analysis, we explored an interaction effect with sex. Results We included 585 ischemic stroke patients with baseline data on CRP levels. The mean age was 67 (13 SD), 39% ( n = 226) were female, and the median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was 3 (IQR 1–4). Twenty percent of survivors showed evidence for depressive symptoms one year after stroke with CES-D ≥ 16, 21% at year two, and 17% at year three. Higher log-transformed baseline hs-CRP levels were associated with higher CES-D Scores over time in the adjusted linear mixed model ( β = 1.28; (95% CI 0.22–2.34)). The subgroup analysis revealed an interaction effect of hs-CRP on depressive symptoms in women ( β = 2.33; (95% CI 0.71–3.95)). Conclusion In our cohort with mild-to-moderate first-ever ischemic stroke patients, hs-CRP levels were associated with more depressive symptoms over time, with an interaction effect for the female sex. Study registration https://clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT01363856.