title: Psychological morbidity in women at increased risk of developing breast cancer: a controlled study.
abstract: There has been an ongoing debate in the literature on the extent to which women with a family history of breast cancer are at risk of psychological morbidity. This study compares psychological morbidity in 557 women participating in a large Australian registry of high-risk breast cancer families (kConFab) with 2 age and education matched samples, 1494 general practitioner attendees and 158 members of a twin registry. Participants completed the Somatic and Psychological Health Report (SPHERE). There were no significant differences between the three groups on psychological distress (F(2, 670) = 1.77, p = 0.17). Unsurprisingly, GP attendees reported more symptoms of somatic distress than the kConFab group (t411 = 2.89, p = 0.004); there were no differences between the twins and the kConFab group on somatic distress (t174 = 0.40, p = 0.687). Clinically significant anxiety/depression, a combination of psychological and somatic distress, therefore was significantly higher in GP attendees (28%) than the kConFab and twin samples (both 20%). These results refute the hypothesis that women with a family history of breast cancer are at greater psychological risk.
authors.affiliation: Medical Psychology Research Unit, University of Sydney, Australia. phyllisb@med.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: Phyllis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Butow
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meiser
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.forename: Tracey
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Davenport
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hickie
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003710:Demography; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018433:Twin Studies as Topic