Anxiety Common in Diabetic Retinopathy Laser Surgery

Among patients with diabetic retinopathy undergoing their first panretinal photocoagulation (PRP), preoperative anxiety is common, and lower educational attainment, longer diabetes duration, and lack of family accompaniment independently predict greater preprocedural anxiety, according to results of a study published in BMC Ophthalmology .

Researchers conducted a prospective cross-sectional study of 198 adults with type 2 diabetes and diabetic retinopathy who underwent their first PRP at a single center between January 2022 and December 2023. Anxiety was assessed 10 minutes before PRP using the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and categorized as low (none/mild) or high (moderate/severe). Demographic, ocular, diabetes-related, general health, family support, and PRP-awareness factors were evaluated.

The mean age was 56.42 10.24 years, and the mean SAS score was 60.57 4.86. Overall, 63.1% of patients had moderate-to-severe anxiety, including 60.1% with moderate and 3.0% with severe anxiety. Additionally, 36.9% had no-to-mild anxiety.