PRE-OPERATIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS DOES NOT ADVERSELY AFFECT FUNCTIONAL OUTCOME AFTER TOTAL HIP REPLACEMENT - A MULTI-CENTRE PROSPECTIVE COHORT ANALYSIS

Introduction Preoperative psychological distress has been reported to predict poor outcome and patient dissatisfaction after total hip replacement (THR). We investigated this relationship in a prospective multi-centre study between January 1999 and January 2002. Methods We recorded the Oxford Hip Score (OHS) and SF36 score preoperatively and up to five years after surgery and a global satisfaction questionnaire at five year follow up for 1039 patients. We dichotomised the patients into the mentally distressed (Mental Health Scale score - MHS Results Both pre and post-operative OHS and SF-36 scores were significantly worse in the distressed group (both p Conclusion Despite having worse absolute values both pre and post operatively, patients with mental distress did not have any less functional gain from THR.