Effects of Perioperative Noise Exposure on Sleep Quality and Psychological Stress in Patients Undergoing Lung Cancer Surgery.

OBJECTIVE

Investigate how perioperative noise affects sleep quality and psychological stress of lung cancer surgery patients, in order to provide an optimizing ward settings and improving recovery efficacy.

METHOD: This study is a retrospective observational study, with data sourced from the hospital medical record system, including 143 lung cancer surgery patients (November 2022-November 2024), who were divided based on perioperative 24-h average LAeq into two groups: ts (Novem n  = 69) and <55 dBA ( n  = 74). This study assessed sleep using (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI] and sleep structure parameters: total sleep time [TST], sleep efficiency [SE], sleep latency [SL], psychological status using Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 [DASS-21], and Self-Rating Depression Scale [SDS]), saliva cortisol (SC), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and postoperative complications. Multiple logistic regression was used to control confounders and analyze the association between noise exposure and patient recovery.

RESULT: Post-treatment, the high-exposure group had significantly higher PSQI, DASS-21 and SDS scores, as well as TSH and SC levels, but shorter TST, lower SE, and longer SL compared with the low-exposure group (all P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in postoperative complications ( P > 0.05). Multiple logistic regression showed that after controlling for confounding factors such as age, perioperative noise exposure ≤55 dBA was a protective factor against sleep disorders and increased psychological stress, while open chest surgery was a risk factor for increased psychological stress.

CONCLUSION

Perioperative noise exposure in lung cancer surgery reduces sleep quality, increases psychological stress. Multivariate analysis identifies 55 dBA noise as an independent protective factor, highlighting the need for optimizing the ward environment to improve recovery outcomes.