PSYCHOLOGICAL MORBIDITY ASSOCIATED WITH ABDOMINAL AORTIC-ANEURYSM SCREENING

Objectives: To identify whether abdominal aortic aneurysm screening ca uses anxiety in those screened and whether the diagnosis of an aneurys m produces sustained anxiety in subjects in comparison with those in w hom no abnormality is detected. Design: Prospective case controlled st udy. Materials and Methods: The 28-item General Health Questionnaire ( GHQ) was used to assess psychological morbidity in 161 men attending f ar routine aneurysm screening in the Gloucestershire Aneurysm Screenin g programme. One hundred men had a normal aorta and 61 were identified as having aneurysms. The GHQ was administered just before screening a nd I month later. An anxiety linear analogue scale was also used. Resu lts: There was no difference in anxiety levels between those men with normal aortas and those with aneurysms either before or after screenin g. There was a statistically significant reduction in both these group s I month after screening. Conclusion: This study shows that although the invitation to aneurysm screening may cause some mild anxiety, this is not prolonged men wizen an asymptomatic aneurysm is diagnosed.