Journal of public health medicine
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J Public Health Med · Jun 1998
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialIs screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm acceptable to the population? Selection and recruitment to hospital-based mass screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm.
The aim of the study was to analyse whether the selection and recruitment for hospital-based mass screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) is acceptable for the population according to the criteria from the Council of Europe. ⋯ The attendance rate fell markedly with age, but the recruitment was high even at the age of 73, and travel distance and social class did not markedly influence uptake. A positive morbidity selection to screening for AAA was observed for cardiovascular or pulmonary diseases and potentially mobility-disabling diseases. Furthermore, higher prevalence of AAA was found for initial nonattenders. Thus, screening for AAA seems acceptable to the population, and extra efforts to increase the attendance are beneficial without increased costs per diagnosed AAA. Finally, if mass-screening proves to be cost-ineffective, selective screening of patients with hypertension or ischaemic heart disease might be beneficial.