title: Prospective study of anxiety in patients undergoing an outpatient colonoscopy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Undergoing a colonoscopy can cause anxiety in patients and this is something which has not been closely studied.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the frequency and intensity of anxiety prior to a colonoscopy and the factors which are related to the procedure.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a prospective study of patients undergoing outpatient colonoscopy in our hospital. Anxiety was assessed using a visual analogue scale of 0 to 100. The severity of anxiety was rated as mild (1-29), moderate (30-79) or severe (80-100).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three hundred and twenty-seven patients completed the study, of whom 154 (47.1%) were men with a median age of 54 years (p25-75: 45-65). Three hundred and nine (94.5%) patients were found to suffer a certain degree of anxiety. The median value on the visual analogue scale was 31 (p25-75: 10-53). Anxiety levels were mild in 136 patients (44%), moderate in 141 (45.6%) and severe in 32 (10.4%). Greater anxiety was associated with female patients (mean 40.38 vs 31.99, p = 0.01) and a poorly tolerated previous colonoscopy (mean 50.67 vs 28.44, p = 0.01) and correlated inversely with age (r = -0.170, p = 0.02).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Colonoscopy causes some degree of anxiety in most patients. Being female, younger and having experienced poor tolerance to a previous scan are associated with greater degrees of anxiety. These findings should be taken into account in the implementation of measures to improve the quality and tolerance of colonoscopy.
authors: Aparato Digestivo, HAR de Ecija. Agencia Sanitaria Bajo Guadalquivir, España .
authors: Israel
authors: I
authors: Grilo Bensusan
authors: Aparato Digestivo, HAR Écija. Agencia Sanitaria Bajo Guadalquivir. Sevilla.
authors: Pablo
authors: P
authors: Herrera Martín
authors: Aparato Digestivo, HAR Écija. Agencia Sanitaria Bajo Guadalquivir. Sevilla.
authors: María Valle
authors: MV
authors: Aguado Álvarez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012727:Sex Characteristics