Abstract
Study Design: Prospective analytical study. Objectives: The aim was to determine the association between mental depression and symptomatic Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease (LDDD) in patients with no previous background of mental disorder. We also aimed at determining the incidence of mental depressions in patients with LDDD and the effects of the treatment on the mental depression. Methodology: One hundred and sixty patients with no prior history of mental or behavioral disorders who presented with low back pains arising from LDDD and met inclusion criteria were studied. The clinical findings and Depression Screening Test pro-forma were completed for each. The extracted information was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24.0. The statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: One hundred and fifty-three patients completed the study, with a male to female ratio of 1:1.5 and the mean age of the patients was 48.5 years. The marital status was 4.4% single, 86.9% married, 3.8% divorce/separate and 5% widow/widower. Their levels of education were: no formal education (10.00%), primary school level (8.10%), secondary level (27.50%) and Tertiary level (54.40%). Conclusions: This study showed the incidence of mental depression in 32% of the patients with LDDD. We also noted a statistically significant relationship between symptomatic LDDD and level of mental depression with significant improvement in the level of depression at 6th month after treatment. Hence, assessment of the patients’ mental health is important in the management of LDDD.
Highlights
Chronic back pains due to Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease (LDDD) are common, with up to 90% of the people expected to experience chronic low back pain (CLBP) at one time or the other during their lifetime [1]
This study showed the incidence of mental depression in 32% of the patients with LDDD
We noted 49 (32%) of the participants with significant mental depression symptoms at presentation while 14 (9.2%) of the participants had mental depression symptoms at 6-monrth after treatments. This is the incidence of mental depression among the patients with symptomatic LDDD at presentation. This incidence of mental depression in our study is similar to the findings by Renata et al in the study of 188 patients (48 cervical and 140 lumbar disc disease) aged 22 to 72 years in which before surgical treatment, symptoms of depression were reported in 47.3% of patients (11.7% with cervical disc disease and 35.6% with lumbar disc disease while 6 months after treatment the, symptoms of depression were present in 31.1% (7.5% with cervical disc disease and 23.6% with lumbar disc disease) [14]
Summary
Chronic back pains due to Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease (LDDD) are common, with up to 90% of the people expected to experience chronic low back pain (CLBP) at one time or the other during their lifetime [1]. Mental depression called clinical depression or major depressive disorder is a form of mood disorder which causes persistent feeling of sadness, loss of interest, affects feeling, thinking and behavior and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems [7] [8] [9] [10] It may occur only once during a life time but typically in multiple episodes with each episode characterized with multiple of the following: sadness, tearfulness, hopelessness, anger, irritability or frustration, loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, sleep disorders, tiredness and lack of energy, eating disorders, anxiety, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts or suicide, and unexplained physical symptoms or its severity like back pain or headaches [7] [8] [9] [10]. Depression often goes undiagnosed and untreated in older adults, and they may feel reluctant to seek help and symptoms of depression may be different or less obvious in adults
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