Screening for negative emotions and analysis of related factors among general surgery inpatients: a retrospective cross-sectional study

Background Adverse psychological states in surgical patients can impact outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate mood disorders and associated factors in general surgery inpatients using the Huaxi Emotional Distress Index (HEI). Methods This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed HEI scores of 20,398 adult patients hospitalized for elective surgery at a tertiary hospital in China (2018–2021). Univariable and multivariable logistic regression identified factors linked to moderate/severe mood disturbances. Results Factors linked to moderate/severe mood disturbances were identified through univariable and multivariable logistic regression. The results showed that 3.7% of the patients had HEI ≥ 13, indicating significant emotional issues. The mean age was 52.67 (16.14) years in the group with no/mild distress and 59.65 (16.34) years in the group with moderate/severe distress. Among all the cases included, there were 2,689 cases (13.18%) of gastric and esophageal diseases, 1,437 cases (7.04%) of hepatic diseases, 913 cases (4.47%) of periampullary and pancreatic tumors, 9,150 cases (44.85%) of gallbladder diseases, 2,777 cases (13.61%) of colorectal diseases, and 3,432 cases (16.83%) of other diseases. The male percentage was 45.5 and 54.9% in the two groups, respectively. Older age, male gender, unstable occupations, lower education, and unmarried status were associated with higher risks of mood disturbances (all p < 0.05). A significant downward trend in adverse emotions was observed with increasing education levels ( p < 0.001). Furthermore, the study found that the inpatients had higher HEI scores prior to the COVID-19 pandemic compared to during the pandemic ( p < 0.001). However, the occurrence of adverse mood states in these patients was not exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The trend test remained highly significant in the none-adjusted, age-sex adjusted, and fully adjusted models (all p for trend <0.001). Conclusion The implementation of routine screening in higher education institutions (HEIs) allows for the early identification of surgical inpatients who require psychological intervention. It is recommended that counseling services focus on individuals with lower levels of education and income instability in order to address negative mood states. Furthermore, the potential application of this screening system in other clinical settings could enable earlier psychological interventions for a larger number of patients.