title: Diagnostic invasiveness and psychosocial consequences of false-positive mammography.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We undertook a study to assess whether women with false-positive mammography have worse psychosocial consequences if managed with a workup that involves a biopsy (invasive group) than if managed with only additional imaging (noninvasive group).
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed subgroup analysis of a cohort study of 454 women with abnormal screening mammography and 908 matched control women with normal results. Using a condition-specific questionnaire (Consequences of Screening in Breast Cancer), we assessed 12 psychosocial consequences at 5 time points (0, 1, 6, 18, and 36 months after final diagnosis) and compared the 2 groups of women with false-positives (invasive and noninvasive management groups).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 252 women with false-positive mammography eligible for this study, psychosocial consequences were similar for those managed invasively and those managed noninvasively during the 36 months of follow-up. In 60 comparisons (12 scales and 5 time points), differences between the groups were never statistically significant (P <.01) and the point estimates for the differences were always close to zero. The psychosocial consequences of women with false-positive results, regardless of management, fell between those of women with normal mammography and those of women determined to have breast cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found no evidence that use of more invasive diagnostics was associated with worse psychosocial consequences. It is therefore reasonable to pool subgroups of women with false-positives in a single analysis. The invasiveness of subsequent diagnostic procedures does not help to identify women at higher risk for adverse psychosocial consequences of false-positive mammography.
authors.affiliation: The Research Unit for General Practice and Section of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark bruno.heleno@sund.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Heleno
authors.affiliation: The Research Unit for General Practice and Section of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Volkert Dirk
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Siersma
authors.affiliation: The Research Unit for General Practice and Section of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brodersen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000523:psychology*; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: biopsy; biopsy/adverse effects; breast cancer; false-positive reactions/adverse effects; fine-needle/adverse effects; mammography/adverse effects; mass screening