Yang G, Li D, Cao Y. Correlation between chronic pain, disability, and psychological factors (depression and anxiety) after surgery for acute orthopedic trauma. World J Psychiatry 2025; 15(11): 108185 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i11.108185]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yi Cao, Department of Pain Ward of Rehabilitation, Honghui Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 555 Youyi East Road, Beilin District, Xi’an 710000, Shaanxi Province, China. 18609204567@163.com
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Medicine, Research & Experimental
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Retrospective Cohort Study
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Nov 19, 2025 (publication date) through Nov 3, 2025
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World Journal of Psychiatry
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2220-3206
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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Yang G, Li D, Cao Y. Correlation between chronic pain, disability, and psychological factors (depression and anxiety) after surgery for acute orthopedic trauma. World J Psychiatry 2025; 15(11): 108185 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i11.108185]
World J Psychiatry. Nov 19, 2025; 15(11): 108185 Published online Nov 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i11.108185
Correlation between chronic pain, disability, and psychological factors (depression and anxiety) after surgery for acute orthopedic trauma
Guang Yang, Dian Li, Yi Cao
Guang Yang, Department of Spine Surgery, Xi'an Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Xi’an 710000, Shaanxi Province, China
Dian Li, Department of Psychiatry, Xi'an Red Society Hospital, Xi’an 710000, Shaanxi Province, China
Yi Cao, Department of Pain Ward of Rehabilitation, Honghui Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710000, Shaanxi Province, China
Author contributions: Yang G was responsible for conceptualization, data curation, methodology, software, writing - original draft; Li D was responsible for formal analysis, project administration, visualization; Cao Y was responsible for investigation, supervision, validation, writing - review & editing.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved for publication by Xi'an Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Institutional Reviewer.
Informed consent statement: All study participants or their legal guardian provided informed written consent about personal and medical data collection prior to study enrolment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the Authors have no conflict of interest related to the manuscript.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The original anonymous dataset is available on request from the corresponding author at 18609204567@163.com.it.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yi Cao, Department of Pain Ward of Rehabilitation, Honghui Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 555 Youyi East Road, Beilin District, Xi’an 710000, Shaanxi Province, China. 18609204567@163.com
Received: May 28, 2025 Revised: July 2, 2025 Accepted: August 26, 2025 Published online: November 19, 2025 Processing time: 158 Days and 22.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The occurrence of chronic pain and disability after acute orthopedic trauma is significantly correlated with psychological factors, particularly depression and anxiety. As such, assessment of these factors is crucial for postoperative rehabilitation.
AIM
To investigate the correlation between chronic pain, disability, and psychological factors (depression and anxiety) after acute orthopedic trauma surgery.
METHODS
Data from 120 patients, who underwent surgery for acute orthopedic trauma at Xi’an Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital (Shaanxi Province, China) between June 2022 and June 2024, were retrospectively analyzed. Basic information and postoperative pain metrics [visual analog scale (VAS)], disability rating index (DRI), Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAMA) and Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD) were collected from electronic medical records. Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to examine associations between chronic pain VAS, DRI, HAMD, and HAMA scores.
RESULTS
Among the 120 patients [79 (65.8%) males and 41 (34.2%) females], postoperative VAS scores were significantly associated with HAMD and HAMA scores, with correlation coefficients of 0.625 (P = 0.027) and 0.568 (P < 0.001), respectively. Postoperative DRI scores were also significantly associated with HAMD and HAMA scores, with correlation coefficients of 0.683 and 0.557, respectively (both P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION
Chronic pain and disability after surgery for acute orthopedic trauma are significantly correlated with psychological factors (depression and anxiety). Multidisciplinary teams should integrate mental health services to improve patient outcomes.
Core Tip: After treatment for acute orthopedic trauma, the occurrence of chronic pain and disability is significantly correlated with psychological factors, particularly depression and anxiety. As such, psychological assessment is crucial for rehabilitation. This study investigated the correlation among chronic pain, disability, and psychological factors (depression and anxiety) in patients who underwent surgery for acute orthopedic trauma. Postoperative visual analog scale scores were significantly associated with Hamilton depression rating scale and anxiety scale scores, with correlation coefficients of 0.625 (P = 0.027) and 0.568 (P < 0.001), respectively, as were postoperative Disability Rating Index scores, with correlation coefficients of 0.683 and 0.557, respectively (both P < 0.001).
