The psychological aspects of everyday functioning in a group of patients with varicose veins – an assessment with VEINES Qol/Sym for patients before and after varicose veins surgery

Abstract

Psychological functioning of patients in early stages of venous insufficiency has not been a common subject of scientific investigation so far, even though this group of patients experiences many limitations in daily functioning, as well as psychological distress. Varicose veins are the most common type of venous insufficiency, with an epidemiology of up to 50% of the western population. The present study is concerned with the functioning of a group undergoing surgery of varicose veins. The operation was carried out in an ambulatory mode, and such psychological factors as acceptance of illness, anxiety–state, anxiety–trait, and wellbeing (treated as personality construct) have been considered. It is the first time that such variables have been used with the new tool for assessing quality of life in venous diseases (VEINES Qol/Sym), and no previous findings about applying VEINES Qol/Sym to assess patients after varicose veins operations exist. The results are promising, especially for combining such psychological variables as anxiety, acceptance of illness, or wellbeing with specific venous measures of quality of life. It has been proved that there is a need for monitoring psychological variables in the group of patients in an early stage of chronic venous illness. Further research on other venous patient groups is necessary to fully understand the specificity of these groups.

Keywords

• varicose veins
• quality of life
• anxiety
• wellbeing
• acceptance of illness