A comparison of depression scores between aesthetic and functional rhinoplasty patients

Depression is a mood state of sadness, gloom, and pessimistic ideation with loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities. This mood disorder has been reported to occur more frequently among cosmetic surgery patients. The purpose of the current study was to compare the score of depression among aesthetic rhinoplasty candidates and functional rhinoplasty patients as control group. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Depression (DE) subscale of Symptom Check List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) were administered on a sample of aesthetic rhinoplasty patients (n=21) as well as a sample of functional rhinoplasty patients (n=21). Those with both cosmetic and functional purposes were categorized regarding their primary objective. Questionnaires were given to patients preoperatively. Cohen's d was also calculated as a measure of Effect Size (ES). BDI and SCL-90-R-DE scores were analyzed using t-test for independent groups. Statistical analyses suggested that the mean BDI and SCL-90-R-DE scores of aesthetic surgery patients were significantly higher than those of functional surgery patients (P<0.05). The results showed that age, sex, and Socio-Economic Status (SES) were not significantly different between the two groups as they can be capable of influencing the depression score. Effect size was above the moderate level: d=0.51, d=0.72 for BDI and SCL-90-R-DE, respectively. Using two different depression instruments, the findings of this study showed that aesthetic rhinoplasty patients were more depressed in comparison with functional rhinoplasty patients. The measures of ES also supported the hypothesis that aesthetic rhinoplasty candidates had higher scores in depression.