Women are more likely than men to develop depression after a stroke but are also more likely than men to take their stroke-related medications, according to a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.

The current study involved 491 stroke survivors who were all prescribed drugs prior to hospital discharge intended to lower risk for a second stroke by lowering cholesterol and/or blood pressure and by acting as an anticoagulant.

Three months later, researchers evaluated participants' level of depression, quality of life, and whether they were still taking stroke prevention medications. A total of 385 people, or 78 percent, were still taking their medications after three months.

Nineteen percent of women reported feelings of depression compared with 10 percent of men. Thirty percent of women reported sleep problems compared with 22 percent of men.

Interestingly, men who continued to take medications reported a better overall quality of life than women who continued to take medications.

"This study was consistent with others that have shown that women are more likely to keep taking their medications than men, even though they may be more likely to be depressed and have poorer quality of life," said study author Cheryl Bushnell, MD, MHS, of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, and member of the American Academy of Neurology.

"It may be that depression and quality of life do not impact women's motivation to take their medications. Men, on the other hand, who are more depressed and report poorer quality of life, are less likely to adhere to their medication schedules."

The study was part of a multi-center registry of 105 hospitals participating in the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get with the Guidelines program.