Poor mental health before surgery is linked to worse outcomes. (Unsplash), CC BY
The Conversation: Feeling anxious before surgery? Anxiety can harm healing, but innovative mental health support could help
As written in The Conversation by Dr. Renée El-Gabalawy, associate professor of clinical health psychology in UM’s Max Rady College of Medicine.
Feeling anxious before surgery is normal — but for many patients, it goes far beyond nerves. There is a growing body of research showing that poor mental health before surgery can derail recovery in ways that extend far beyond the operating room.
For example, in recent research, my colleagues and I found that anxiety and depressive symptoms before surgery are linked to poorer surgical outcomes. This includes higher complication rates within 30 days and even increased risk of death within a year.
On top of this, many patients rank anxiety as one of the worst parts of their surgical experience, worse than pain or other aspects of surgical recovery.
Both patients and clinicians identify a need for mental health support, yet this need is often overlooked. As an expert in perioperative mental health, I have some solutions to offer.
Research at the University of Manitoba is partially supported by funding from the Government of Canada Research Support Fund.