Life dissatisfaction is associated with depression and poorer surgical outcomes among lumbar spinal stenosis patients: a 10-year follow-up study

Abstract

Life satisfaction is associated with overall somatic health and the short-term surgical outcome in lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) patients. In this study, the long-term relationship between life satisfaction and the surgical outcome in LSS patients was investigated in a 10-year follow-up. This prospective clinical study included 102 LSS patients who underwent decompressive surgery. They completed a set of questionnaires first preoperatively and then 6 times postoperatively (at 3 and 6 months, and at 1, 2, 5 and 10 years). The final study population at the 10-year follow-up comprised 72 patients. A four-item life satisfaction scale was used to measure global life satisfaction. The sum of all seven life satisfaction scores provided a measure of the life dissatisfaction burden over the entire 10-year follow-up. Depression was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory. The surgical outcome was evaluated using the Oswestry Disability Index, pain evaluation (visual analogue scale), self-reported walking capacity and overall satisfaction with the surgery. Both preoperative life dissatisfaction and the long-term life dissatisfaction burden were associated with poorer 10-year surgical outcomes (i.e. Oswestry Disability Index and visual analogue scale) in logistic regression analyses. Life dissatisfaction was also associated with symptoms of depression. Monitoring subjective well-being, especially life satisfaction and mood, in LSS patients before and after surgery may help in detecting those at risk of a poorer long-term surgical outcome.

Disability, emotional distress and well‐being among patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis

“…Patients with more severe anxiety and depression tended to have lower levels of psychology well‐being. This result is consistent with the findings of Vereckei et al () and Pakarinen et al (), which suggested a negative correlation between well‐being and depression. Family support, depression and well‐being were found to be significantly correlated.…”

“…To summarise these findings, anxiety and depression were found to affect patients’ preoperative and postoperative well‐being; however, the severity of disability was found to only impact preoperative well‐being. A decade‐long longitudinal study of 72 patients with lumbar spinal stenosis conducted by Pakarinen et al () found that patients with a greater life satisfaction had a lower level of disability and depression; and depression and life satisfaction had a long‐term correlation.…”

“…In addition, patients with more severe depression tended to have more severe disabilities. Pakarinen et al () conducted a long‐term follow‐up study among patients with lumbar disease and had received surgical treatment. The results showed significant differences in life satisfaction among patients with a different severity of disability, pain and depression.…”

“…The prevalence of physical dysfunctions and chronic diseases shows a growing trend because of the prolonged average human lifespan. Spondylolisthesis is a chronic, degenerative, spinal condition that can cause functional limitations to individuals' participation in physical activities and psychological issues, such as anxiety and depression, which, in turn, alter life satisfaction；psychological status before surgery is also believed to influence the outcome of surgery (Deschênes, Burns, & Schmitz, 2015;Pakarinen et al, 2016;Searle, Spink, Ho, & Chuter, 2015). (Banth & Ardebil, 2015;He et al, 2014;Sathya, Ramakrishnan, & Shah, 2015).…”

“…Studies have discovered that well-being is influenced by educational background, illness (Tse, Leung, & Ho, 2012), disability (Schiavolin et al, 2014) and emotional distress (anxiety and depression; Pakarinen et al, 2016). Shih (1994) suggested that one source of well-being is the need for health; well-being tends to decrease as normal physical functioning and health deteriorate.…”