Anatomical specificity of post-stroke depression: Subcortical lesions, age-related patterns, and predictors of treatment response

Figure 3 Age-related patterns of anxiety and depression severity. A: Both Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores increased progressively across age groups (younger: 20.1 ± 5.2 points and 22.4 ± 5.7 points; middle-aged: 22.3 ± 5.4 points and 24.2 ± 5.9 points; older: 24.5 ± 5.6 points and 26.3 ± 6.2 points, P for trend ≤ 0.001). Dashed lines indicate trends. Error bars represent SD; B: Scatter plots demonstrate moderate positive correlations between age and symptom severity (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale: r = 0.312; Hamilton Depression Rating Scale: r = 0.328, both P < 0.001). Regression lines show age-dependent escalation. Data presented as mean ± SD or individual values. P < 0.001. HAMA: Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale; HAMD: Hamilton Depression Rating Scale.