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World J Psychiatry. Aug 19, 2026; 16(8): 119250
Published online Aug 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.119250
Published online Aug 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.119250
Impact of anxiety and depression on treatment adherence and nursing workload in hospitalized patients with gastrointestinal diseases
Zhi-Tiao Lv, Department of Gastroenterology, The First People’s Hospital of Yongkang City, Yongkang 321300, Zhejiang Province, China
Juan Chen, Department of Neurosurgery, The First People’s Hospital of Yongkang City, Yongkang 321300, Zhejiang Province, China
Shao-Yu Fang, Department of Psychiatric, The First People’s Hospital of Yongkang City, Yongkang 321300, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Lv ZT designed the study, supervised the entire research process, performed the statistical analysis, and drafted the manuscript; Chen J participated in data collection, patient screening, and data interpretation; Fang SY was responsible for psychiatric assessment, contributed to the acquisition and interpretation of psychological data, and critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content; and all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: All the authors confirm that the manuscript and all related scientific content were independently written by the authors. No artificial intelligence assistance tools were used. We would like to clarify that we have not used AI tools to revise the manuscript nor have we used AI tools to respond to the reviewers. All the authors are fully responsible for the reliability, completeness and originality of the work.
Institutional review board statement: This study has been reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the First People’s Hospital of Yongkang City, Approval No. 1-2026-02.
Informed consent statement: Given that retrospective design only involves anonymous analysis of historical medical record data, the ethics committee has granted an exemption for obtaining informed consent.
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: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Zhi-Tiao Lv, MD, Doctor, Department of Gastroenterology, The First People’s Hospital of Yongkang City, No. 599 Jinshan West Road, Yongkang 321300, Zhejiang Province, China. lvzhitiao0331@163.com
Received: March 13, 2026
Revised: April 17, 2026
Accepted: May 11, 2026
Published online: August 19, 2026
Processing time: 127 Days and 5.3 Hours
Revised: April 17, 2026
Accepted: May 11, 2026
Published online: August 19, 2026
Processing time: 127 Days and 5.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Anxiety and depression are common but often underestimated comorbidities in hospitalized patients with gastrointestinal diseases. This retrospective observational study showed that moderate-to-severe anxiety and depression were independently associated with poorer treatment adherence, greater nursing workload, longer hospital stay, higher hospitalization costs, and increased short-term readmission risk. A dose-response relationship was observed, with worsening psychological symptoms associated with lower adherence and higher nursing burden. These findings support the importance of routine psychological assessment and tiered psychosomatic management in the inpatient care of gastrointestinal diseases.