Psychometric properties of a Swedish version of the Consequences of Screening--Breast Cancer questionnaire

Surveillance of indeterminate pulmonary nodules detected with CT in a Swedish population-based study (SCAPIS): psychosocial consequences and impact on health-related quality of life-a multicentre prospective cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

To investigate whether surveillance of pulmonary nodules detected with low-dose CT (LDCT) impacted health-related quality of life and psychosocial consequences in the Swedish population-based study, Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS).

DESIGN

A prospective cross-sectional study.

SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS

This multicentre (five sites) observational study, which included a cohort from SCAPIS, consisted of 632 participants with indeterminate pulmonary nodules detected with LDCT. These participants continued surveillance for up to 36 months, during which lung cancer was not detected (surveillance group). Additionally, 972 participants with a negative pulmonary LDCT scan were included as a control group. Matching criteria were LDCT date (±2 weeks), gender and site.

OUTCOME MEASURES

All participants completed a health-related quality of life questionnaire (RAND-36) and the Consequences of Screening (COS) questionnaire, an average of 3 years after LDCT was conducted at entry into SCAPIS.

RESULTS

Participants were 51-70 years old at study commencement. Overall, the two groups did not differ in demographic or psychosocial variables, smoking habits or pulmonary medical history. Individuals from countries other than Sweden and those with low socioeconomic status were less likely to participate (p<0.001). No effects on health-related quality of life were observed via RAND-36. In COS, the surveillance group demonstrated a higher OR for anxiety about lung cancer (OR 3.96, 95% CI 2.35 to 6.66, p<0.001), experiencing a sense of dejection (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.72, p=0.015) and thoughts about existential values (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.60, p=0.018).

CONCLUSIONS

Lung surveillance with LDCT contributed to significant experiences of sense of dejection, anxiety about lung cancer and development of thoughts about existential values among participants in the surveillance group compared with the controls. The risk of side effects should be communicated for informed decision-making about (non-)attendance in lung cancer screening.

Prevalence, Long-term Development, and Predictors of Psychosocial Consequences of False-Positive Mammography among Women Attending Population-Based Screening

BACKGROUND

Cancer screening aims to detect cancer at an asymptomatic stage, although side effects from screening also occur. We investigated the prevalence, longitudinal development, and predictors of psychosocial consequences of false-positive breast cancer screening.

METHODS

Three hundred ninety-nine women with false-positive screening mammography responded to the Consequences of Screening-Breast Cancer (COS-BC) questionnaire immediately after a negative diagnosis (free from breast cancer) following recall examination(s) (baseline), and 6 and 12 months later. Age-matched controls (n = 499) with a negative mammogram responded to the COS-BC at the same occasions. Five COS-BC scales (Sense of dejection, Anxiety, Behavioral, Sleep, and Existential values) were used as outcome measures.

RESULTS

Women with false-positive mammography had consistently higher prevalence of all five consequences compared with controls (P < 0.001). The prevalences decreased between baseline and 6 months (P < 0.001) but were stable between 6 and 12 months (P ≥ 0.136). Early recall profoundly predicted long-term consequences for all five outcomes (OR, 3.05-10.31), along with dissatisfaction with information at recall (OR, 2.28-2.56), being foreign-born (OR, 2.35-3.71), and lack of social support (OR, 1.13-1.25).

CONCLUSION

This 1-year longitudinal study shows that women experience psychosocial consequences of false-positive screening mammography. Early recall should be performed cautiously, and provision of information as well as social support may reduce psychosocial consequences.

IMPACT

Although delivery of population-based screening reduces breast cancer mortality, it also raises the issue of its impact on the psychosocial well-being of healthy women. Our findings identify predictors that can be targeted in future efforts to reduce the side effects of mammographic screening.