An evaluation of preoperative anxiety in Spanish-speaking and Latino children in the United States.

Background: There is a large body of literature examining factors associated with children's preoperative anxiety; however, cultural variables such as ethnicity and language have not been included.

Aims: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the role of Latino ethnicity and Spanish-speaking families in pediatric preoperative anxiety.

Methods: Participants were 294 children aged 2-15 years of age undergoing outpatient, elective tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy surgery and general anesthesia. Participants were recruited and categorized into 3 groups: English-speaking non-Latino White (n = 139), English-speaking Latino (n = 88), and Spanish-speaking Latino (n = 67). Children's anxiety was rated at 2 time points before surgery: the time the child entered the threshold of the operating room (Induction 1) and the time when the anesthesia mask was placed (Induction 2).

Results: Results from separate linear regression models at Induction 1 and Induction 2, respectively, showed that being from a Spanish-speaking Latino family was associated with higher levels of preoperative anxiety compared with being from an English-speaking family. In addition, young age and low sociability was associated with higher preoperative anxiety in children.

Conclusion: Clinicians should be aware that younger, less sociable children of Spanish-speaking Latino parents are at higher risk of developing preoperative anxiety and manage these children based on this increased risk.