Differences in anxiety among patients with liver cirrhosis with different compensation abilities

To explore the difference in anxiety and mental health of patients with liver cirrhosis with different compensatory abilities, so as to provide comprehensive treatment measures such as individualized psychological support for patients.

In this retrospective study, a total of 175 patients with liver cirrhosis admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases, Fifth Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January to December 2019 were included and divided into a compensated group (n=77) and a decompensated group (n=98). The anxiety of patients was evaluated on the day of admission, one week after hospitalization, and the day of discharge using the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). Psychological investigations were conducted on the two groups of patients with cirrhosis.

The SAS score of patients in the decompensated group was higher than that of the compensated group on the day of admission (48.62±6.35 vs. 37.68±8.94, F=20.313), one week after hospitalization (56.95±7.47 vs. 42.79±10.77, F=29.879), and on the day of discharge (42.95±7.85 vs. 36.43±9.29, F=7.110) (P<0.05). The SAS score of male patients in the decompensated group was higher than that of the compensated group on the day of admission (47.50±6.25 vs. 36.70±9.92, t=-4.112), one week after hospitalization (57.25±5.80 vs. 42.10±13.24, t=-4.538) and on the day of discharge (42.33±7.34 vs. 36.19±9.65, t=-2.162) (all P<0.05). The SAS score of 40-59 year-old patients of the decompensated group was higher than that of patients in the compensated group of the same age on the day of admission (51.80±6.26 vs. 36.84±8.57, t=-4.372), one week after hospitalization (60.6±7.06 vs. 42.94±10.33, t=-4.382), and on the day of discharge (48.60±4.16 vs. 37.32±10.23, t=-3.768) (P<0.05). The SAS score of female patients in the decompensated group was higher than that in the compensated group at one week after hospitalization (56.56±9.65 vs. 35.45±18.66, t=-4.617) (P<0.05). There was no difference in the SAS score between patients of different groups on the day of admission and the day of discharge (P>0.05).

The anxiety of patients with different compensatory abilities of the liver is adversely affected by the severity of their illness and the length of hospitalization. The anxiety of male patients in the decompensated group is more significant than that of patients in the compensated group, while no significant difference was observed in anxiety between female patients in the decompensated group and those in the compensated group on the day of admission and discharge. It is necessary to strengthen psychological intervention, optimize the treatment methods, and reduce the average hospital stay in decompensated patients.