Depression risk in chronic tonsillitis patients underwent tonsillectomy: a global federated health network analysis

Background: Tonsillectomy is a common surgery in the US, with possible postoperative complications. While small studies indicate postoperative depressive symptoms may occur, large-scale evidence is lacking on the tonsillectomy-depression link. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX US collaborative network, offering de-identified electronic health data from 59 collaborative healthcare organizations (HCOs) in the United States. In this study, people being diagnosed of chronic tonsillitis between January 2005 and December 2017 were enrolled. Patients deceased, with previous record of cancers or psychiatric events before index date were excluded. 14,874 chronic tonsillitis patients undergoing tonsillectomy were propensity score matched 1:1 to controls for age, sex, and race. New-onset depression risks were evaluated over 5 years post-tonsillectomy and stratified by age and sex. Confounders were adjusted for including demographics, medications, comorbidities and socioeconomic statuses. Results: After matching, the difference of key baseline characteristics including age, sex, comedications status and obesity status was insignificant between tonsillectomy and non-tonsillectomy groups. Tonsillectomy had a 1.29 times higher 5-year depression risk versus matched controls (95% CI, 1.19-1.40), with elevated risks seen at 1 year (HR=1.51; 95% CI, 1.28-1.79) and 3 years (HR=1.30; 95% CI, 1.18-1.43). By stratifications, risks were increased for both males (HR=1.30; 95% CI, 1.08-1.57) and females (HR=1.30; 95% CI, 1.18-1.42), and significantly higher in ages 18-64 years (HR=1.37; 1.26-1.49), but no significance observed for those 65 years and older. After performing sensitivity analyses and applying washout periods of 6, 12, and 36 months, the outcome remained consistent with unadjusted results. Conclusion: This real-world analysis found tonsillectomy was associated with a 30% higher 5-year depression risk versus matched non-tonsillectomy patients with chronic tonsillitis. Further mechanistic research is needed to clarify the pathophysiologic association between depression and tonsillectomy. Depression is not commonly mentioned in the current post-tonsillectomy care realm; however, the outcome of our study emphasized the possibility of these suffering condition after operation. Attention to psychological impacts following tonsillectomy is warranted to support patient well-being, leading to better management of post-tonsillectomy individuals.