Demographics, family histories, and psychological characteristics of prostate carcinoma screening participants

BACKGROUND. The goals of this study were to 1) understand the reasons that men seek prostate carcinoma screening, in light of the ongoing medical cont roversy surrounding screening; and 2) assess the level of psychological dis tress and perceived risk among men seeking screening, and whether or not th ese variables were dependent on a man's family history of prostate carcinom a. METHODS. The subjects were 126 men (40% had a family history of prostate ca rcinoma) who participated in a free prostate carcinoma detection program. Q uestionnaires, which were completed prior to prostate carcinoma screening, included demographic and medical information, reasons for screening partici pation, general and cancer-related psychological distress, and perceived ri sk for prostate carcinoma. RESULTS. Among both family history groups, self-referral was the most commo n reason for attending the screening, compared with receiving a recommendat ion from a health professional or from a friend or family member. Men with a positive family history were not more distressed than those without a fam ily history; but as the authors predicted, men with a positive family histo ry of prostate carcinoma did report higher level!; of perceived risk relati ve to those without a family history. In addition, an interaction revealed that psychological distress was greater among men with a family history onl y among those who also reported elevated perceived risk. CONCLUSIONS. Similar to other prostate carcinoma screening programs, men in the current sample largely elected to attend the screening on their own. F urthermore, although perceived risk was higher among men with a family hist ory compared with those without a family history, psychological distress wa s greater among men with a family history only among those who also reporte d elevated perceived risk. Thus, among men with a family history of the dis ease, perceived risk may be a marker of elevated psychological distress. Sc reening programs should assess family history and perceived risk because of the potential psychological implications for screening participants. Cance r 1999;85:1305-12. (C) 1999 American Cancer Society.