European journal of cancer : official journal for European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) [and] European Association for Cancer Research (EACR)
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The aim of this study was to examine psychological distress in a mammography screening process as a consequence of screening after adjusting for background, personality and prescreening distress. Subjects, aged 50 years, were invitees at their first screening. There were three groups; normal findings (n=1407), false-positive findings (n=492) and referents from outside the screening programme (n=1718, age 48-49 years). ⋯ At 2 months, there was a moderate multivariate effect of group on distress; and intrusive thinking and worry about breast cancer, in particular, were most frequent amongst the false positives. Intrusive thinking still prevailed at 12 months, in addition to a higher perceived breast cancer risk and susceptibility. Distress related to screening and false-positive findings seems to be moderate, but prevailing cancer-specific concerns call for improvements in screening programmes.