Distress and psychiatric morbidity among women from high-risk breast and ovarian cancer families.
This study assessed psychological distress and psychiatric disorder in high-risk women enrolled in a hereditary breast and ovarian cancer registry, and it evaluated the concordance between self-report data and interview-based psychiatric diagnosis. A sample of 464 women completed the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 and were interviewed using modules of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Level of psychological distress and the prevalence of psychiatric disorder were low and in the range that would be expected for a sample of community-residing women. Screening proved inefficient: Less than 10% of distressed women met criteria for a clinical disorder. High-risk women seeking genetic testing in research settings may not require extensive psychological screening and diagnostic assessment. Caution is expressed about possible self-selection biases in women enrolled in hereditary cancer registries.
Coyne
J C
JC
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Health Care System, Philadelphia 19104, USA. jcoyne@mail.med.upenn.edu
Benazon
N R
NR
Gaba
C G
CG
Calzone
K
K
Weber
B L
BL
D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D010414:Pennsylvania / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012042:Registries; D015983:Selection Bias; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology