Abstract
The aim of the study was to determine change in preoperative anxiety level, if any, among females of different age groups and compare baseline anxiety levels with preoperative anxiety. This cross-sectional study was conducted at different cardiac centers in two urban localities of Pakistan. A total of 383 female patients were included in this study through nonprobability consecutive sampling. Patients were divided into three age groups; <40 years, 40- 51 years and >51 years. Anxiety levels were assessed using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). For descriptive analysis, mean, and standard deviation were used for quantitative variables while for categorical variables, frequency and percentage were used. For analytical part, One-Way ANOVA and Pearson Correlation were used. It was noted that majority of the study population belonged to <40 years’ age group. On STAI scale ranging from 20-80, mean preoperative anxiety levels were 47.30±10.74 as compared to baseline anxiety levels which were 43.16±10.51. Moreover, females less than 40 years of age reported highest levels of baseline anxiety as well as preoperative anxiety; also, a six-fold increase in anxiety levels was observed before surgery (p<0.05). It was observed that baseline anxiety was positively correlated with preoperative anxiety. Younger females are more prone to develop higher levels of preoperative anxiety and baseline anxiety has a direct influence upon preoperative anxiety levels.