Correlation between anxiety, depression, and social stress in young patients with thoracolumbar spine fractures

BACKGROUND: Traumatic injuries, such as falling, car accidents, and crushing mostly cause spinal fractures in young and middle-aged people, and > 50% of them are thoracolumbar fractures. This kind of fracture is easily combined with serious injuries to peripheral nerves and soft tissues, which causes paralysis of the lower limbs if there is no timely rehabilitation treatment. Young patients with thoracolumbar fractures find it difficult to recover after the operation, and they are prone to depression, low self-esteem, and other negative emotions. AIM: To investigate the association between anxiety, depression, and social stress in young patients with thoracolumbar spine fractures and the effect on rehabilitation outcomes. METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed 100 patients admitted to the orthopedic department of Honghui Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University who underwent thoracolumbar spine fracture surgery from January 2022 to June 2023. The general data of the patients were assessed with the Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA), Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), life events scale, and social support rating scale (SSRS) to identify the correlation between anxiety, depression scores, and social stress and social support. The Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) was utilized to evaluate the rehabilitation outcomes of the patients and to analyze the effects of anxiety and depression scores on rehabilitation. RESULTS: < 0.05) in the negative life event scores as well as the total SSRS scores. Additionally, JOA scores were significantly lower in both anxious and depressed patients. CONCLUSION: Young patients with thoracolumbar fractures are prone to anxiety and depression. Patients' anxiety and depression are closely associated with social pressure, which reduces the life pressure of young patients with thoracolumbar fractures, enhances social support, and improves the psychology of anxiety and depression., which affects patients' recovery.