Published online Jan 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i1.101563
Revised: October 30, 2024
Accepted: November 15, 2024
Published online: January 19, 2025
Processing time: 90 Days and 4 Hours
This article examines the complex relationship between disease perception, negative emotions, and their impact on postoperative recovery in patients with perianal diseases. These conditions not only cause physical discomfort, but also carry a significant emotional burden, often exacerbated by social stigma. Psychological factors, including stress, anxiety, and depression, activate neuroendocrine pathways, such as the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, disrupting the gut microbiota and leading to dysbiosis. This disruption can delay wound healing, prolong hospital stay, and intensify pain. Drawing on the findings of Hou et al, our article highlights the critical role of illness perception and negative emotions in shaping recovery outcomes. It advocates for a holistic approach that integrates psychological support and gut microbiota modulation, to enhance healing and improve overall patient outcomes.
Core Tip: Perianal disease includes various debilitating conditions, with a significant impact on physical and emotional health, often requiring surgery. Emerging research shows the critical role of psychoneuroimmunoendocrine pathways and gut microbiota in recovery, linking psychological factors, immune response, and wound healing. Psychological perceptions, negative emotions, and gut dysbiosis can impair postoperative recovery. A holistic, integrative approach that includes mental health support and microbiota modulation may enhance healing and improve long-term outcomes for patients with perianal disease.