Investigation and analysis of negative emotion in patients with diabetic retinopathy after vitrectomy.

Background: As the incidence of diabetes continues to increase, the number of patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) also increases each year. After undergoing vitrectomy for DR, patients often experience negative emotional problems that negatively affect their recovery.

Aim: To investigate negative feelings in patients with DR after vitrectomy and to explore related influencing factors.

Methods: A total of 146 individuals with DR who were accepted for treatment at The Third People's Hospital of Changzhou from May 2021 to April 2023 were recruited to participate in this study. All patients underwent vitrectomy. The self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) were used to assess the degree of anxiety and depression 2-3 days after the operation. The participants were divided into a healthy control group and a negative emotion group. The patients' general demographic characteristics and blood glucose levels were collected. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the factors influencing negative feelings post-operation. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to analyze the association between SAS scores, SDS scores, and blood glucose levels.

Results: The control group included 85 participants. The negative emotion group comprised 40 participants with anxiety, 13 with depression, and eight with both. Logistic regression showed that being female (OR = 3.090, 95%CI: 1.217-7.847), a family per capita monthly income of < 5000 yuan (OR = 0.337, 95%CI: 0.165-0.668), and a longer duration of diabetes (OR = 2.068, 95%CI: 1.817-3.744) were risk factors for negative emotions in patients with DR after vitrectomy (P < 0.05). The concentrations of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-hour postprandial glucose (2hPG), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in the negative emotion group exceeded those in the control group (P < 0.05). SAS scores were positively associated with FPG (r = 0.422), 2hPG (r = 0.334), and HbA1c (r = 0.362; P < 0.05). SDS scores were positively correlated with FPG (r = 0.218) and 2hPG (r = 0.218; P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Sex, income level, and duration of diabetes were factors that influenced negative emotions post-vitrectomy. Negative emotions were positively correlated with blood glucose levels, which can be used to develop intervention strategies.