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False-positive mammograms associated with anxiety, willingness for future screening

Date:
April 21, 2014
Source:
The JAMA Network Journals
Summary:
Mammograms with false-positive results were associated with increased short-term anxiety for women, and more women with false-positive results reported that they were more likely to undergo future breast cancer screening. A portion of women who undergo routine mammogram screening will experience false-positive results and require further evaluation to rule out breast cancer.
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Mammograms with false-positive results were associated with increased short-term anxiety for women, and more women with false-positive results reported that they were more likely to undergo future breast cancer screening.

A portion of women who undergo routine mammogram screening will experience false-positive results and require further evaluation to rule out breast cancer.

The authors report quality-of-life (QoL) results from the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST). The telephone survey was conducted shortly after screening at 22 sites and 1,226 randomly selected women with positive and negative mammogram results were enrolled. Follow-up interviews were obtained from 1,028 of the women (534 with negative results, 494 with false-positive results).

Among women with a false-positive mammogram, 50.6 percent reported anxiety as moderate or higher and as extreme by 4.6 percent. But that did not affect plans by women to undergo screening within the next two years. More women with false-positive results (25.7 percent) compared with women with negative results (14.2 percent) said they were "more likely" to undergo future breast cancer screening.

"Our finding of time-limited harm after false-positive screening mammograms is relevant for clinicians who counsel women on mammographic screening and for screening guideline development groups," the researchers note.


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Materials provided by The JAMA Network Journals. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Anna N. A. Tosteson, Dennis G. Fryback, Cristina S. Hammond, Lucy G. Hanna, Margaret R. Grove, Mary Brown, Qianfei Wang, Karen Lindfors, Etta D. Pisano. Consequences of False-Positive Screening Mammograms. JAMA Internal Medicine, 2014; DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.981

Cite This Page:

The JAMA Network Journals. "False-positive mammograms associated with anxiety, willingness for future screening." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 April 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140421164351.htm>.
The JAMA Network Journals. (2014, April 21). False-positive mammograms associated with anxiety, willingness for future screening. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 19, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140421164351.htm
The JAMA Network Journals. "False-positive mammograms associated with anxiety, willingness for future screening." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140421164351.htm (accessed March 19, 2024).

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