The effect of preoperative fear and anxiety on postoperative pain in surgical patients: a descriptive and correlational study

Abstract Background Preoperative surgical fear and anxiety, is known to influence postoperative pain perception. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between preoperative surgical fear, surgical anxiety, and postoperative pain severity. Methods This descriptive and correlational study included 138 adult patients undergoing elective general surgery at a tertiary care hospital. Preoperative surgical fear and anxiety were assessed one day before surgery using the Surgical Fear Questionnaire (SFQ) and the Surgical Anxiety Questionnaire (SAQ). Postoperative pain intensity was measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at predefined intervals during the first 24 postoperative hours. Correlation analyses were performed to examine associations between psychological variables and pain intensity. Results Patients had mean SFQ and SAQ scores of 34.6±18.1 and 40.4±12.6, respectively. SFQ was weakly but significantly correlated with postoperative pain intensity across all time intervals during the first 24 hours (r = 0.186–0.257, p< 0.05). Similarly, SAQ showed significant positive correlations with postoperative pain at all time points, with slightly stronger associations observed in the early postoperative period (r = 0.232–0.326, p < 0.01). A strong positive correlation was identified between SFQ and SAQ (r = 0.733, p< 0.001). No significant association was found between psychological variables and total analgesic consumption (p > 0.05). Conclusion Preoperative surgical fear and anxiety were significantly associated with postoperative pain in general surgery patients, particularly in the early postoperative period. Routine psychological assessment may contribute to improved pain management and perioperative care outcomes.