The Impact of Depression on Patient Outcomes in Hip Arthroscopic Surgery

BACKGROUND: Mental health impairments have been shown to negatively affect preoperative self-reported function in patients with various musculoskeletal disorders, including those with femoroacetabular impingement. HYPOTHESIS: Those with symptoms of depression will have lower self-reported function, more pain, and less satisfaction on initial assessment and at 2-year follow-up than those without symptoms of depression. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: Patients who were enrolled in a multicenter hip arthroscopic surgery registry and had 2-year outcome data available were included in the study. Patients completed the 12-item International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT-12), visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, and 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) when consenting for surgery. At 2-year follow-up, patients were emailed the iHOT, the VAS, and a rating scale of surgical satisfaction. Initial SF-12 mental component summary (MCS) scores <46.5 and ≤36 were used to qualify symptoms of depression and severe depression, respectively, as previously described and validated. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was performed to compare preoperative and 2-year postoperative iHOT-12, VAS, and satisfaction scores between those with and without symptoms of depression. RESULTS: A total of 781 patients achieved the approximate 2-year milestone (mean follow-up, 735 ± 68 days), with 651 (83%) having 2-year outcome data available. There were 434 (67%) female and 217 (33%) male patients, with a mean age of 35.8 ± 13.0 years and a mean body mass index of 25.4 ± 8.8 kg/m(2). The most common procedures were femoroplasty (83%), followed by synovectomy (80%), labral repair (76%), acetabuloplasty (58%), acetabular chondroplasty (56%), femoral chondroplasty (23%), and labral reconstruction (19%). The mean initial SF-12 MCS score was 51.5 ± 10.3, with cutoff scores indicating symptoms of depression and severe depression in 181 (28%) and 71 (11%) patients, respectively. Patients with symptoms of depression scored significantly (P < .05) lower on the initial iHOT-12 and VAS and 2-year follow-up iHOT-12, VAS, and rating scale of surgical satisfaction. CONCLUSION: A large number of patients who underwent hip arthroscopic surgery presented with symptoms of depression, which negatively affected self-reported function, pain levels, and satisfaction on initial assessment and at 2-year follow-up. Surgeons who perform hip arthroscopic surgery may need to identify the symptoms of depression and be aware of the impact that depression can have on surgical outcomes.