Journal of Internal Medicine Concepts & Practice ›› 2023, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (05): 309-315.doi: 10.16138/j.1673-6087.2023.05.001

• Original article •     Next Articles

Mental health status of patients with esophageal symptoms and esophageal motility disorders during coronavirus pandemic

SONG Jiani, ZHU Ying, HUANG Jia, TANG Yuming(), YAO Weiyan()   

  1. Department of Gastroenterology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
  • Online:2023-10-30 Published:2024-01-26
  • Contact: TANG Yuming,YAO Weiyan E-mail:windwindy2000@126.com;ywy14419@rjh.com.cn

Abstract: Objective To investigate the mental health status of the patients with different esophageal symptoms and/or esophageal motility disorders during the coronavirus pandemic. Methods The data of 137 coronavirus-negative patients with different esophageal symptoms, who underwent high-resolution manometry(HRM) from April in 2020 to December in 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The demographic characteristics, esophageal symptoms, HRM results, scores of 9-item patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and scores of 7-item generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7) scale and the risk factors for psychological disorders were analyzed. Results In 137 patients who underwent HRM, 62.0%(85/137) cases had depression, and 59.9%(82/137) cases had anxiety. Most of the patients(97/137) with regurgitation presented anxiety (71.1%, P=0.045). However, the GAD-7 score in the patients with chest pain [18.00 (10.00-20.00)] was higher than that in the patients with other symptoms(P=0.049). The GAD-7 score[15.00(7.50-18.50)] in the patients without esophageal motility disorder was higher than that [9.00(6.00-13.00)] in the patients with esophageal motility disorder(P=0.012). A lower body mass index (BMI) was discovered in the moderate depression group(P=0.034) and in the severe anxiety group(P=0.008). There were more patients with regurgitation in severe anxiety group(P=0.035), while the mild anxiety group contained more patients with achalasia (P=0.009). Age<40 years[odds ratio (OR)=15.02, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.50-90.30], BMI<18 kg/m2 (OR=9.37, 95%CI: 1.11-79.46), globus (OR=5.89, 95%CI: 1.09-31.75), regurgitation (OR=5.57, 95%CI: 1.12-27.64) and achalasia (OR=15.72, 95%CI: 2.82-87.71) were risk factors for anxiety, while single (OR=0.03, 95%CI: 0.00-0.61) was protective factors for anxiety. Conclusions Psychological disorders are common in the patients with esophageal symptoms and esophageal motility disorders during the coronavirus pandemic. Young age, low BMI, globus, regurgitation and achalasia are risk factors for anxiety, while single is protective factors of anxiety.

Key words: Mental health, Esophageal motility disorders, Esophageal symptoms, Psychological disorders

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