Journal of International Psychiatry

[Abstract] Objective To explore the characteristics of contrast-enhanced ultrasound of gastric motility in patients with anxiety. Methods Forty anxiety patients and forty volunteers without mental illness and digestive system disease in our hospital from January 2020 to January 2021 were the observation objects of this study. They were set as the anxiety group and the control group, respectively. All carried out gastrointestinal ultrasound assisted imaging agent loading experiment. Use an ultrasound instrument to obtain the area of the proximal and distal stomach, the thickness of the posterior wall of the stomach during contraction and diastole, the tube diameter when the gastric peristaltic wave is sunken, and the distance that the gastric peristaltic wave moves to the pylorus. Calculate gastric emptying rate (GRE), gastric wall thickening rate, and gastric motility index (MI). The clinical symptoms of upper abdominal pain syndrome and postprandial distress syndrome were compared between the two groups. Results The GRE of proximal stomach and distal stomach in the anxiety group at 30min, 60min, and 120min were significantly lower than those of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The stomach wall thickening rate and MI of the anxiety group were significantly lower than those of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The incidences of upper abdominal pain syndrome, postprandial distress syndrome, and loss of appetite in the anxiety group were significantly higher than those in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion Contrast-enhanced ultrasound is an effective tool for evaluating gastric motility in patients with anxiety disorders. Compared with the normal population, patients with anxiety disorders have worse gastric emptying and peristaltic function, and are more likely to have symptoms such as postprandial distress syndrome and decreased appetite.

Key words Contrast Ultrasound; Anxiety Disorder; Gastric Motility