Poststroke dementia is associated with recurrent ischaemic stroke

Abstract

Objective To investigate whether poststroke dementia (PSD) diagnosed after ischaemic stroke predicts recurrent ischaemic stroke in long-term follow-up. Methods We included 486 consecutive patients with ischaemic stroke (388 with first-ever stroke) admitted to Helsinki University Central Hospital who were followed-up for 12 years. Dementia was diagnosed in 115 patients using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edition (DSM-III) criteria. The effects of risk factors and PSD on survival free of recurrent stroke were estimated using Kaplan–Meier log-rank analyses, and the HRs for stroke recurrence were calculated using Cox proportional hazards models. Results In the entire cohort, patients with PSD had a shorter mean time to recurrent stroke (7.13 years, 95% CI 6.20 to 8.06) than patients without dementia (9.41 years, 8.89 to 9.92; log rank pConclusions Poststroke dementia predicts recurrence of ischaemic stroke in long-term follow-up and should be considered when estimating prognosis.