Abstract: Objective  To explore the predictive value of serological indicators for post-stroke depression(PSD) in elderly patients with ischemic stroke. 
Methods  The clinical data of 560 elderly patients with acute ischemic stroke(AIS) diagnosed and treated in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Based on presence or absence of depression at 6 months after stroke, they were divided into PSD group(n=221) and non-PSD group(n=339). The clinical data and serological indicators of the two groups were compared. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors of PSD. The ROC curve was used to analyze the clinical value of each serum indicator in predicting the occurrence of PSD. 
Results  The results of univariate analysis showed that total serum cholesterol, serum creatinine, uric acid(UA), serum amyloid A(SAA), interleukin(IL)-1, IL-2, IL-6, IL-17, hypersensitive C-reactive protein(hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio(NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio(PLR) were higher than those in the non-PSD group(P＜0.05), while TNF-α, and SAA levels, as well as NLR and PLR calculated by routine blood tests, were lower than those in non-PSD group(P＜0.05). There was no significant difference in alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase between two groups(P＞0.05). The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that IL-6(OR=1.48, 95%CI : 1.06-1.97, P=0.026), IL-17(OR=1.26, 95%CI: 1.03-1.56, P=0.038), NLR(OR=2.45, 95%CI: 1.52-4.89, P＜0.001), SAA(OR=1.87, 95%CI: 1.22-2.65, P＜0.001), UA(OR=2.68, 95%CI: 1.72-5.68, P＜0.001) were influencing factors of PSD in elderly patients with AIS. The AUC of UA, NLR, SAA, IL-6, and IL-17 for predicting the occurrence of PSD at 6 months in elderly patients with AIS was 0.838, 0.826, 0.759, 0.732, and 0.569, respectively. 
Conclusion  Increased serum levels of IL-6, IL-17, SAA, NLR, and UA are risk factors for PSD in elderly patients with AIS. They can predict the risk of PSD, and UA and NLR have the highest predictive value.

Key words: acute ischemic stroke, post-stroke depression, serum indicators, elderly