To determine the efficacy of early emotional interventions on functional outcomes in stroke patients and examine differences by intervention type and timing of initiation.
Approach:
Method: label
Method: text
Key Findings:
Thirty-eight RCTs (n = 12,020 participants) were included.
Weighted mean difference (WMD) in BI score improvement was 6.8 (95% CI: 5.2–8.4) favoring interventions over control.
WMD was 8.2 (95% CI: 5.7–10.7) for cognitive behavioral therapy, 9.1 (95% CI: 6.5–11.7) for combined interventions, 6.5 (95% CI: 4.1–8.9) for rTMS, and 4.2 (95% CI: 1.8–6.6) for SSRIs.
Interventions initiated within 2 weeks post-stroke yielded a greater WMD of 10.3 (95% CI: 7.8–12.8) compared to 5.8 (95% CI: 3.6–8.0) for later initiation.
Interpretation:
Early emotional interventions improve functional recovery after stroke, with the greatest benefit observed for cognitive behavioral therapy and combined interventions initiated within 2 weeks of stroke onset.
Limitations:
Heterogeneity in usual care across studies may affect outcomes.
Many primary studies had small sample sizes or short follow-up periods, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
Conclusion:
The findings indicate a positive effect of early emotional interventions on functional outcomes after stroke.
