Changes in Psychological Status and Health-Related Quality of Life Following Total Shoulder Arthroplasty

Background: There has been little documentation of the effects of total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) on psychological status and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We investigated changes in psychological status (depression and anxiety) and HRQoL following TSA and assessed the effect of preoperative psychological status on postoperative clinical and functional outcome. We hypothesized that TSA would improve both psychological status and HRQoL.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 46 patients undergoing TSA for osteoarthritis. Preoperatively and at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively, all of the subjects completed the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Scale (ASES), the Subjective Shoulder Value (SSV) measure, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale Abbreviated Version (WHOQOL-BREF).

Results: From 3 months after surgery, significant improvement in HADS-depression, HADS-anxiety, and WHOQOL-BREF scores as well as in the other outcome measures of VAS pain score, ASES score, and SSV were observed. The prevalence of depression and anxiety decreased from a rate of 15.2% and 19.5%, respectively, preoperatively to a rate of 6.5% for each at 12 months postoperatively. Preoperative HADS-depression and HADS-anxiety scores did not correlate with any of the clinical and functional outcome measures at 12 months after surgery.

Conclusions: This study showed significant improvement in psychological status and HRQoL as well as in pain and functional ability from 3 months after TSA in patients with osteoarthritis. Preoperative depression and anxiety did not predict poor postoperative outcome. Our findings suggest that TSA offers an excellent chance of improving psychological status and HRQoL.

Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.