PSYCHIATRIC MORBIDITY, COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT, AND QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG POST-STROKE PATIENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Background: Stroke is a major cause of long-term disability and is frequently accompanied by psychiatric disorders, cognitiveimpairment, and reduced quality of life. These complications may remain under-recognized despite their potential impact onrehabilitation and functional recovery. The objective is to determine the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity, assess cognitivefunction and quality of life, and evaluate their associations with clinical characteristics among post-stroke patients. Materialsand Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study included 100 consecutive post-stroke patients attending a governmenttertiary care teaching hospital between January 2023 and February 2025. Psychiatric morbidity was assessed using the MiniInternational Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI-Plus), cognitive function using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA),and quality of life using the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life (SS-QOL) scale. Associations between psychiatric morbidity andclinical variables were assessed using the chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Student's t test, Mann–Whitney U test, analysisof variance, or Kruskal–Wallis test, as appropriate. Results: Psychiatric disorders were identified in 90% of participants.Depression was the most frequent diagnosis (40%), followed by anxiety disorders (25%), mild cognitive impairment (MCI)(15%), and psychosis (10%). MoCA assessment showed relatively greater impairment in delayed recall, abstraction, andvisuospatial/executive functioning, whereas attention and orientation were relatively preserved. SS-QOL domain scoressuggested greater impairment in mobility, mood, and work/productivity. Psychiatric morbidity was significantly associatedwith lesion site (p=0.004), recurrent stroke (p=0.030), and MoCA score (p=0.040). No statistically significant association wasobserved with lesion side (p=0.910), stroke type (p=0.100), duration since stroke (p=0.710), or overall SS-QOL score(p=0.260). Conclusion: Psychiatric morbidity was common among post-stroke patients and was associated with lesion site,stroke recurrence, and cognitive performance. Routine psychiatric and cognitive assessment should be considered as part ofcomprehensive stroke rehabilitation.