Abstract:

Objective: To assess the level and influencing factors of mental vulnerability among tuberculosis(TB) patients. Methods: A total of 807 tuberculosis patients who visited the Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital from January 31 to June 30, 2025 were selected as subjects with convenience sampling. Data were collected using the general information questionnaire, the Mental Vulnerability Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire and the Perceived Social Support Scale. Multiple linear regression analysis was employed to identify overall influencing factors, with stratified analysis based on treatment classification (newly diagnosed/retreatment) to screen independent influencing factors of mental vulnerability for both groups. Results: The average score of mental vulnerability among tuberculosis patients was 56.08±11.03. Correlation analysis demonstrated that mental vulnerability was positively correlated with anxiety and depression (r=0.136, P<0.001) and illness perception (r=0.105, P<0.05), and negatively correlated with perceived social support (r=-0.741, P<0.001). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that age >65 years (β=2.081, 95%CI: 0.036-4.126), single drug resistance (β=3.016, 95%CI: 0.947-5.084), multidrug resistance (β=4.137, 95%CI: 2.171-6.104), and the presence of comorbidities (β=4.843, 95%CI: 3.688-5.998) were significant risk factors for mental vulnerability in tuberculosis patients, while perceived social support (β=-12.365, 95%CI:-13.202--11.527) was identified as a protective factor. Stratified analysis indicated that perceived social support was a protective factor in both the newly diagnosed group (β=-0.661, 95%CI:-0.701--0.622) and the retreatment group (β=-0.687, 95%CI:-0.792--0.582), while comorbidities were risk factors in both groups (newly diagnosed: β=4.605, 95%CI: 3.576-5.634; retreatment: β=4.261, 95%CI: 1.397-7.126). Multidrug resistance showed significant effects only in the retreatment group (β=6.248, 95%CI: 2.699-9.796), whereas urban residency provided protective effects solely in the retreatment group (β=-4.431, 95%CI:-7.902--0.960). Conclusion: The mental vulnerability of patients with tuberculosis was relatively high, with somato-psychological symptoms being the prominent manifestation. Healthcare professionals should pay particular attention to elderly, drug-resistant, and comorbid patients, and focus on early physical disease symptom complaints. Regardless of treatment stage, enhancing social support and strengthening the management of comorbidities should be fundamental intervention strategies. For retreatment patients, more attention should be paid to the cumulative psychological trauma associated with multidrug resistance and the accessibility of medical resources, while for newly diagnosed patients, their psychological stress responses need to be identified early.

Key words: Tuberculosis, Psychological phenomena and processes, Factor analysis, statistical, Questionnaires