title: Consequences of false-positive screening mammograms.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  False-positive mammograms, a common occurrence in breast cancer screening programs, represent a potential screening harm that is currently being evaluated by the US Preventive Services Task Force.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To measure the effect of false-positive mammograms on quality of life by measuring personal anxiety, health utility, and attitudes toward future screening.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST) quality-of-life substudy telephone survey was performed shortly after screening and 1 year later at 22 DMIST sites and included randomly selected DMIST participants with positive and negative mammograms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mammogram requiring follow-up testing or referral without a cancer diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 6-question short form of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory state scale (STAI-6) and the EuroQol EQ-5D instrument with US scoring. Attitudes toward future screening as measured by women's self-report of future intention to undergo mammographic screening and willingness to travel and stay overnight to undergo a hypothetical new type of mammography that would identify as many cancers with half the false-positive results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 1450 eligible women invited to participate, 1226 (84.6%) were enrolled, with follow-up interviews obtained in 1028 (83.8%). Anxiety was significantly higher for women with false-positive mammograms (STAI-6, 35.2 vs 32.7), but health utility scores did not differ and there were no significant differences between groups at 1 year. Future screening intentions differed by group (25.7% vs 14.2% more likely in false-positive vs negative groups); willingness to travel and stay overnight did not (9.9% vs 10.5% in false-positive vs negative groups). Future screening intention was significantly increased among women with false-positive mammograms (odds ratio, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.54-2.93), younger age (2.78; 1.5-5.0), and poorer health (1.63; 1.09-2.43). Women's anticipated high-level anxiety regarding future false-positive mammograms was associated with willingness to travel overnight (odds ratio, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.28-2.95).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  False-positive mammograms were associated with increased short-term anxiety but not long-term anxiety, and there was no measurable health utility decrement. False-positive mammograms increased women's intention to undergo future breast cancer screening and did not increase their stated willingness to travel to avoid a false-positive result. 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.
authors.affiliation: Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, New Hampshire.
authors.forename: Anna N A
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Tosteson
authors.affiliation: Departments of Population Sciences and Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin at Madison.
authors.forename: Dennis G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Fryback
authors.affiliation: Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, New Hampshire.
authors.forename: Cristina S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.affiliation: Center for Statistical Science, Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Lucy G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Hanna
authors.affiliation: Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, New Hampshire.
authors.forename: Margaret R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Grove
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, New Hampshire.
authors.forename: Qianfei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of California at Davis.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lindfors
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.
authors.forename: Etta D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Pisano
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life
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