Association between self-reported mental health and resource utilization in patients undergoing elective lumbar fusion

Background: Mental health concerns are increasingly common in patients undergoing lumbar spine fusion. Recent studies have suggested that poor mental health leads to a greater risk of suboptimal recovery. However, few studies have investigated cost and resource allocation associated with patients with poor mental health. Therefore, this study was designed to understand how self-reported mental health, assessed by the PROMIS-10 Global Mental Health T-score (MHT), was associated with both hospital costs and post discharge resource utilization. Methods: A total of 1,211 patients that underwent 1- or 2-level elective lumbar fusion between June 2021 and June 2024, and completed a preoperative PROMIS-10 Global assessment were analyzed for this retrospective review. Patients were grouped based on their MHT: MHT >50 was considered above average (AA), MHT scores between 40 and 50 were average (A), and MHT