How cervical disc arthroplasty can impact patient depression — 5 things to know

Spine
Laura Dyrda -

A new study published in the International Journal of Spine Surgery examines how cervical disc arthroplasty outcomes can have an impact on depression.

The study includes 271 patients who underwent single or multi-level cervical disc arthroplasty at a single orthopedic center. The patients were either classified as depressed or non-depressed; 44 percent were depressed.

 

The researches found:

 

1. The depressed patients had poorer pre- and postoperative Neck Disability Index, Medical Outcomes Study SF-36, neck pain and arm pain scores than the non-depressed patients.

 

2. All of the patients reported significant improvement on the pain scores after surgery.

 

3. Eighty of the 118 patients who were depressed — two-thirds of the depressed patients — reported not being depressed any longer 12 months after surgery.

 

4. The originally depressed patients who reported not being depressed any longer one year after surgery had similar postoperative scores to the patients who were never depressed.

 

5. Around 8 percent of the non-depressed patients became nearly depressed by 12 months after surgery; those patients reported similar postoperative scores to the patients who had always been depressed.

 

"Depression is a common occurrence in patients with cervical disorders," concluded the study authors. "Relief from pain and disability after cervical disc arthroplasty can be associated with relief from depression, but poor outcomes may also result in patients becoming depressed."

 

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