Depression may be caused by symptoms affecting lower urinary tract

It is well known that stroke patients are prone to depression and this can sometimes lead to suicide. In this week's BMJ, Ms Katherine Brittain and Professor Mark Castleden from Leicestershire claim that stroke survivors with urinary symptoms (such as incontinence) are twice as likely to report depression than stroke survivors without them. They argue that symptoms affecting the lower urinary tract should not be discounted when assessing survivors of stroke in the community because they can be treated and this could help reduce cases of depression and therefore suicide.

Contact:

Ms Katherine Brittain, Research Associate, Division of Medicine for the Elderly, University of Leicester email: krb&leicester.ac.uk krb&leicester.ac.uk