The relationship of psychological status and social factors with hand function recovery in patients with hand injury: a preliminary study

Abstract

Objective To investigate the incidence of psychological diseases in patients with occupational hand injury and the correlation of psychological status and social factors with hand function recovery.Methods A total of 231 patients with occupational hand injuries were involved in this study.Sociodemographic characteristics of the patients and severity of the injury were collected.Modified hand injury severity scoring system (MHISS) was used to document severity of the injury.Psychological status was assessed using the posttraumatic stress disorder symptom scale-interview (PSS-Ⅰ),the Beck depression inventory (BDI) and the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS).Social support was assessed using Social Support Questionnaire.Hand function was assessed using Disability of Arm,Shoulder and Hand (DASH).The SPSS 17.0 was used to analyze the correlation of the factors.Results Of the 231 patients,the incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was 40.7％,anxiety was 22.9％ and depression was 39.8％.Hand function was closely negatively correlated with anxiety (P =0.025),depression (P ＜ 0.001),PTSD (P =0.002) and severity of hand injury (P =0.040).Pain was closely correlated with anxiety (P =0.007),depression (P =0.005),PTSD (P =0.004),social support (P =0.043) and severity of hand injury (P =0.036).The situation of PTSD (P =0.046) and pain (P =0.043) was significantly different among patients with different payment options for hospitalization cost.Conclusion The incidence of psychological problems was significantly higher in patients with acute hand injuries.The psychological status and social support were closely correlated with hand function recovery and pain.The payment option for hospitalization cost was the most significant social factor that affected PTSD and pain. Key words: Hand injuries; Pain; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Health care cost