ArticleBMJ open2026
Post-stroke depression management in the Israeli primary care setting: a retrospective cohort study.
Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo characterise post-stroke depression (PSD) diagnostic and treatment patterns in an outpatient primary care setting, including timing, screening methods, therapeutic interventions and associations with mortality.
designA retrospective cohort study.
settingMaccabi Healthcare Services, the second largest Healthcare Maintenance Organisation in Israel, covering more than 2.7 million citizens between 2016 and 2022.
participantsParticipants were adult patients with a new stroke diagnosis between 2016 and 2022 and a subsequent diagnosis of depression according to International Classification of Diseases clinical criteria or antidepressant medication initiation. Patients with a diagnosis of depression or antidepressant treatment prior to stroke were excluded from the study. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Primary outcomes included PSD diagnosis rates, time to diagnosis and treatment, use of screening questionnaires, specialty of the physician making the diagnosis and all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes included referral rates to mental health services, rehabilitation participation and its impact on mortality.
resultsAmong 11 499 patients, PSD occurred in 4620 (40.2%) patients. Primary care physicians diagnosed 53.1% of cases based on clinical assessment; only 4.5% of patients underwent Patient Health Questionnaire-2 screening. Most diagnoses occurred in the first year (53.4%). Antidepressants, predominantly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (58.3%), were initiated within 30 days in 65.1% of diagnosed patients. Patients with PSD demonstrated higher rehabilitation participation (69.5% vs 48.5%, p<0.001) and paradoxically lower mortality rates (22.1% vs 27.9%, p<0.001). Patients without PSD were older with a greater comorbidity burden. Cox regression identified physiotherapy visits (HR=0.625, p<0.001) and mental health consultations (HR=0.642, p<0.001) as protective factors.
conclusionsIn this cohort, in an outpatient primary care setting, primary care physicians diagnosed the majority of PSD cases, predominantly relying on clinical criteria, without using screening tools. The majority of PSD diagnoses occurred during the first year after stroke (53.1%), suggesting that repeated evaluation might be appropriate during this follow-up period. Early antidepressant treatment and enhanced rehabilitation engagement may positively influence mortality outcomes in patients with PSD. Low utilisation of standard screening tools and mental health referrals represents an area for potential improvement in PSD management.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.