Concerns Associated With Elective Surgery Identified in Older U.S. Adults

THURSDAY, Feb. 1, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- For older U.S. adults considering elective surgery, concerns include pain and discomfort and difficulty of recovery, as well as financial aspects such as out-of-pocket costs, according to a study published online Jan. 30 in JAMA Network Open.

Nicholas L. Berlin, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study to characterize preoperative concerns among older U.S. adults who considered elective surgery. The analysis included 2,110 participants.

Overall, 676 adults reported that they had considered having an elective surgery in the past five years (weighted percentage, 32.0 percent of older U.S. adults), and 450 of these individuals (weighted percentage, 66.6 percent) underwent surgery. The researchers found that 417 of the 676 individuals who considered elective surgery (weighted percentage, 64.3 percent) reported being very or somewhat concerned about pain or discomfort and 379 (weighted percentage, 57.2 percent) reported concerns about difficulty of recovery. Older adults were most often very concerned about out-of-pocket costs, exposure to COVID-19, and time needed to be off work (weighted percentages, 22.9, 18.9, and 20.2 percent, respectively). Individuals with concerns about out-of-pocket costs, exposure to COVID-19, and time needed to be off work were less likely to undergo surgery.

"Older U.S. adults who considered elective surgery were often concerned about the physical aspects of surgery in addition to economic consequences (financial and employment status)," the authors write. "Addressing these concerns requires systems and policy-level solutions."

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