According to a study published in the online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, those who have depression symptoms might be at an elevated risk of suffering a stroke. Researchers also discovered that persons who had depression symptoms were more likely to have a poor recovery after a stroke. “Depression affects people around the world and can have a wide range of impacts across a person’s life,” said study author Robert P. Murphy, MBBS, of the University of Galway in Ireland. “Our study provides a broad picture of depression and its link to risk of stroke by looking at a number of factors including participants’ symptoms, life choices and antidepressant use. Our results show depressive symptoms were linked to increased stroke risk and the risk was similar across different age groups and around the world.” The study involved 26,877 adults from the INTERSTROKE study and included people from 32 countries across Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Middle East and Africa. Participants had an average age of 62. Of participants, more than 13,000 had a stroke.