Liu XF, Wu YH, Huang GX, Yu B, Xu HJ, Qiu MH, Kang L. Trajectory and influencing factors of changes in anxiety and depression in elderly patients after lumbar interbody fusion. World J Psychiatry 2026; 16(1): 112787 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i1.112787]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Lin Kang, MD, Professor, Department of Spine Surgery, Shenzhen Pingle Orthopedic Hospital, No. 9 Pingle Road, Pingshan District, Shenzhen 518000, Guangdong Province, China. bcgangmu006@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Observational 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/
Jan 19, 2026 (publication date) through Dec 31, 2025
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Publication Name
World Journal of Psychiatry
ISSN
2220-3206
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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Liu XF, Wu YH, Huang GX, Yu B, Xu HJ, Qiu MH, Kang L. Trajectory and influencing factors of changes in anxiety and depression in elderly patients after lumbar interbody fusion. World J Psychiatry 2026; 16(1): 112787 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i1.112787]
World J Psychiatry. Jan 19, 2026; 16(1): 112787 Published online Jan 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i1.112787
Trajectory and influencing factors of changes in anxiety and depression in elderly patients after lumbar interbody fusion
Xiao-Feng Liu, Yan-Hua Wu, Guang-Xi Huang, Bin Yu, Hui-Juan Xu, Meng-Hua Qiu, Lin Kang
Xiao-Feng Liu, Guang-Xi Huang, Hui-Juan Xu, Meng-Hua Qiu, Lin Kang, Department of Spine Surgery, Shenzhen Pingle Orthopedic Hospital, Shenzhen 518000, Guangdong Province, China
Yan-Hua Wu, Department of Rehabilitation, Shenzhen Pingle Orthopedic Hospital, Shenzhen 518000, Guangdong Province, China
Bin Yu, Department of Psychiatry, Shangrao Central Hospital, Shangrao 334000, Jiangxi Province, China
Author contributions: Liu XF was responsible for conceptualizing the study, data analysis, writing the first draft, and review and editing of the manuscript; Wu YH and Huang GX participated in data analysis and reviewing and editing the manuscript; Yu B participated in data analysis and provided clinical advice; Xu HJ and Qiu MH were responsible for conceptualizing the study and determining the research methodology; and Kang L was responsible for supervising and guiding, and participated in reviewing and editing the manuscript.
Supported by the Scientific Research Projects of the Health System in Pingshan District, No. 2023122.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shenzhen Pingle Orthopedic Hospital (No. PLGSK202400412-3).
Informed consent statement: All study participants or their legal guardians provided written informed consent before study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—a checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-a checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: Data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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: Lin Kang, MD, Professor, Department of Spine Surgery, Shenzhen Pingle Orthopedic Hospital, No. 9 Pingle Road, Pingshan District, Shenzhen 518000, Guangdong Province, China. bcgangmu006@163.com
Received: September 9, 2025 Revised: October 11, 2025 Accepted: November 4, 2025 Published online: January 19, 2026 Processing time: 112 Days and 17.2 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Lumbar interbody fusion (LIF) is the primary treatment for lumbar degenerative diseases. Elderly patients are prone to anxiety and depression after undergoing surgery, which affects their postoperative recovery speed and quality of life. Effective prevention of anxiety and depression in elderly patients has become an urgent problem.
AIM
To investigate the trajectory of anxiety and depression levels in elderly patients after LIF, and the influencing factors.
METHODS
Random sampling was used to select 239 elderly patients who underwent LIF from January 2020 to December 2024 in Shenzhen Pingle Orthopedic Hospital. General information and surgery-related indices were recorded, and participants completed measures of psychological status, lumbar spine dysfunction, and quality of life. A latent class growth model was used to analyze the post-LIF trajectory of anxiety and depression levels, and unordered multi-categorical logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors.
RESULTS
Three trajectories of change in anxiety level were identified: Increasing anxiety (n = 26, 10.88%), decreasing anxiety (n = 27, 11.30%), and stable anxiety (n = 186, 77.82%). Likewise, three trajectories of change in depression level were identified: Increasing depression (n = 30, 12.55%), decreasing depression (n = 26, 10.88%), and stable depression (n = 183, 76.57%). Regression analysis showed that having no partner, female sex, elevated Oswestry dysfunction index (ODI) scores, and reduced 36-Item Short Form Health Survey scores all contributed to increased anxiety levels, whereas female sex, postoperative opioid use, and elevated ODI scores all contributed to increased depression levels.
CONCLUSION
During clinical observation, combining factors to predict anxiety and depression in post-LIF elderly patients enables timely intervention, quickens recovery, and enhances quality of life.
Core Tip: A latent class growth model was constructed to analyze trends in postoperative anxiety and depression levels in elderly patients who had undergone lumbar interbody fusion. Three different trends were found: Increasing, decreasing, and stable levels. Factors influencing increased anxiety included female sex, having no partner, high Oswestry dysfunction index (ODI) scores, and low 36-Item Short Form Health Survey scores, while increased depression contributors comprised female sex, postoperative opioid use, and high ODI scores.
