Venous Leg Ulcers and Emotional Consequences

Abstract

Venous leg ulcers are a chronic disease that affects populations around the world. For sufferers, it leads to physical, social, economic, and emotional consequences. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of anxiety and depression, as well as to investigate possible associations with sociodemographic variables. A total of 30 patients, both men and women, with venous ulcers receiving care under outpatient treatment in a teaching hospital of a provincial city of São Paulo State, were included in this study. The evaluation tools used were the following: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and a sociodemographic questionnaire that included job status, religion, marital status, gender, duration of disease, and age. A descriptive analysis of the data was performed. Statistical analysis used means, the Student t test, and the χ ² test. Anxiety was identified in 30% of the patients and depression in 40%. No statistically significant correlation was found between anxiety or depression and the sociodemographic variables. Patients with chronic venous ulcers may present with anxiety and depression independent of socioeconomic variables such as religion, occupation, marital status, and duration of lesion.