Abstract:Objective To explore the effect of preoperative anxiety on postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction（POGD）in patients after cardiac surgery. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of patients who underwent cardiac surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from June 2022 to June 2024.Patients were divided into the anxiety group and the non-anxiety group according to the presence or absence of preoperative anxiety. Propensity score matching（PSM）was used to match patients in the two groups at a 1∶1 ratio，and then the postoperative gastrointestinal function indicators were compared between the matched groups. Results A total of 502patients were enrolled，including 143 in the anxiety group［57 males and 86 females，aged（59.8±12.5）years］and 359in the non-anxiety group［133 males and 226 females，aged（54.5±11.7）years］. After PSM，122 patients were included in each group. Post-matching，the incidences of postoperative nausea and vomiting，diarrhea，and abdominal distension in the anxiety group（53.3%，28.7%，53.3%）were significantly higher than those in the non-anxiety group（33.6%，13.9%，33.6%，P<0.01）. The time to first defecation［3.00（2.00，3.00）d vs 2.00（1.00，2.00）d］and length of hospital stay［11.00（9.25，13.00）d vs 9.00（9.00，11.00）d］in the anxiety group were significantly longer than those in the non -anxiety group（P<0.05）. Conclusion Preoperative anxiety is associated with the increased incidence of POGD inpatients after cardiac surgery，which requires timely intervention.