FAC U LTY O F H EALT H AN D M E D I CAL S C I E N C E S
U N IVE RS ITY O F C O PE NHAG E N
Long term psychosocial consequences of false positive results in the Danish lung cancer CT-screening trial: a cohort study
Jakob F Rasmussen, Volkert Siersma, John Brodersen
The Research Unit for General Practice and Section of General Practice, University of Copenhagen
Aim
To analyse the psychosocial consequences of participants
receiving false-positive results in the Danish lung cancer
CT-screening trial (DLCST).
Conclusion
False-positive results cause long term psychosocial
consequences in the outcomes: Selfblame, Focus on
airway symptoms, Harm of smoking and Regretful of still
smoking.
Short term psychosocial consequences were found in the
outcomes: Anxiety, Dejection, Existential values,
Calm/Relaxed
Background
Participants in existing screening programmes receiving
false-positive results experience psychosocial
consequences. Lung cancer CT screening might also have
psychosocial consequences for participants receiving falsepositive results.
Method
DLCST was a randomised controlled lung cancer CTscreening trial offering the CT group five annual CT scans.
Figure 1: The mean score of each of the 9 psychosocial outcomes of the questionnaire COS-LC part I (relevant for all screening trial
participants) at 5 time points: baseline, 1 week, 1, 6 and 18 months after screening.
The questionnaire, consequences of screening –lung
cancer, (COS-LC), was developed and validated to
measure psychosocial consequences of participants in lung
cancer CT-screening.
Results
Participants receiving false-positive results experience
both short term and long term psychosocial
consequences (figure 1 and 2).
Participants receiving abnormal results were included and
each participant was matched with participants receiving
normal CT-screening results and participants from the
control group.
The questionnaire COS-LC was completed at 5 time
points: baseline, 1 week,1, 6 and 18 months after
screening.
Study design: The distribution of CT-screening results and the final
diagnosis among the matched participants and the questionnaire
response rate at 5 time points: baseline, 1 week, 1, 6, and 18 months
after screening.
Figure 2. The mean score of each of the 6 psychosocial outcomes of the questionnaire COS-LC part II (only relevant for participants
receiving final screening results) at 3 time points: 1, 6 and 18 months after screening.
Presenting author: Jakob Fraes Rasmussen
e: jakobra@sund.ku.dk
m: +45 50998393