Preoperative anxiety may influence surgical outcomes, but its specific impact on hallux valgus (HV) surgery remains unclear. This study evaluated the association between preoperative anxiety and postoperative outcomes in female patients who underwent HV correction. In this retrospective comparative study, 163 female patients who underwent primary HV correction were included. Patients were categorized into anxiety (Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale SAS ≥ 40, n = 48) and nonanxiety (SAS < 40, n = 115) groups. The outcomes included radiographic parameters (hallux valgus angle HVA, intermetatarsal angle IMA), pain (visual analog scale VAS), functional outcomes (Foot and Ankle Ability Measure FAAM, and American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society AOFAS score), quality of life (36-Item Short Form Health Survey SF-36 Physical Function), complications, and length of hospital stay. Multivariate analyses adjusted for potential confounders. There were no significant differences in age, body mass index (BMI), education level, or radiographic parameters between the groups. Anxiety patients had longer hospital stays than nonanxiety patients did (7.03 ± 3.23 vs. 5.16 ± 2.53 days; p < 0.001). Postoperatively, the anxiety group had a higher VAS score (4.14 ± 1.56 vs. 1.24 ± 1.37; p < 0.001) and lower FAAM Activities of Daily Living (ADL), FAAM Sports, AOFAS (85.42 ± 11.54 vs. 91.38 ± 10.11; p = 0.001), and SF-36 PF (83.72 ± 7.36 vs. 94.62 ± 5.42; p < 0.001) scores. Anxiety was moderately correlated with HVA (r = 0.625; p < 0.01). Anxiety severity showed a strong dose-dependent association with functional impairment (FAAM Sports, r = − 0.913) and pain (VAS, r = 0.821). Preoperative anxiety is associated with short-term suboptimal postoperative outcomes following hallux valgus surgery, particularly greater pain and worse functional recovery. These findings suggest that preoperative psychological assessments and targeted psychological support may be valuable components of comprehensive surgical care for female patients undergoing hallux valgus correction. Level III, retrospective comparative study.
Nie et al. (Sun,) studied this question.