Evaluation of preoperative anxiety in cancer patients: Experience of a single center

Anxiety disorder is observed in half of the patients in the preoperative period. Psychological disorders are also frequently observed in cancer patients and need to be supported. The aim of the present study is to determine the level of preoperative anxiety in patients with malignant and benign diagnoses who were planned for elective surgery and to reveal its relationship with socio-demographic data. A tertiary hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the general surgery clinic between June 1, 2021- March 31, 2022, on 158 patients who underwent elective surgery. Participants were evaluated in two groups depending on their diagnosis; the cancer group and the benign group. The socio-demographic data were recorded and the level of anxiety was determined by the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). The median age of participants was 55 (19-78) years. There were 72 (45.6%) patients in the cancer group and 86 (54.4%) patients in the benign group. There was no significant difference in age, gender, marital status, job, level of income, and family cancer history between the two groups. There were significant differences between the groups in level of education, and previous surgical history (p=0.035, and p=0.037, respectively). BAI scores of the cancer group and control group were 10.5 (0-35) and 5 (0-49), respectively (p<0.001). The level of anxiety in the cancer group was also significantly higher than in the benign group (p<0.001). Cancer patients have more anxiety during the preoperative period than patients who were with benign diseases. We believe that previous surgical history and education level are other factors that affect anxiety.