SynthesisBMC public health2011
Emotional impact of screening: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 27 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perspectives of healthcare providers on osteoporosis, falls and fracture risk: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies.Archives of osteoporosis · 2024Pooled it
- General health checks in adults for reducing morbidity and mortality from disease.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Methods Used in Economic Evaluations of Chronic Kidney Disease Testing - A Systematic Review.PloS one · 2015Pooled it
- Personalised risk communication for informed decision making about taking screening tests.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- Long-term cost-effectiveness of screening for fracture risk in a UK primary care setting: the SCOOP study.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2020Trial
- Psychosocial morbidity in women with abnormal cervical cytology managed by cytological surveillance or initial colposcopy: longitudinal analysis from the TOMBOLA randomised trial.Psycho-oncology · 2017Trial
- Using ApoE Genotyping to Promote Healthy Lifestyles in Finland - Psychological Impacts: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of genetic counseling · 2015Trial
- Analysis of the psychological impact of a vascular risk factor intervention: results from a cluster randomized controlled trial in Australian general practice.BMC family practice · 2013Trial
- Population perspectives on benefits and harms of screening for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.) · 2026Article
- Article
- From Fear to Hope: Understanding Preparatory and Anticipatory Grief in Women with Cancer-A Public Health Approach to Integrating Screening, Compassionate Communication, and Psychological Support Strategies.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Adaptation and Validation of the Psychological Consequences of Screening Questionnaire (PCQ) for Cognitive Screening in Primary Care.Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2024Article
- Preferences for Peer Support Amongst Families Engaged in Paediatric Screening Programmes: The Perspectives of Parents Involved in Screening for Type 1 Diabetes in Children Aged 3-13.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Developing a General Population Screening Programme for Paediatric Type 1 Diabetes: Evidence from a Qualitative Study of the Perspectives and Attitudes of Parents.Pediatric diabetes · 2024Article
- Quantifying the psychological and behavioural consequences of a diagnostic label for non-cancer conditions: systematic review.BJPsych open · 2023Review
- Recurrent SARS-CoV-2 Serology Testing and Pandemic Anxiety: A Study of Pediatric Healthcare Workers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Effect of SARS-CoV-2 antibody screening on participants' attitudes and behaviour: a study of industry workers in Split, Croatia.Public health · 2021Article
- Including ELSI research questions in newborn screening pilot studies.Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics · 2019Article
- Short-term mental distress in research participants after receiving cardiovascular risk information.PloS one · 2019Article
- Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Women Toward Prenatal Genetic Testing.Epigenetics insights · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere is a widely held expectation that screening for disease has adverse emotional impacts. The aim of the current review is to estimate the short (< 4 weeks) and longer term (> 4 weeks) emotional impact of such screening.
methodsStudies selected for inclusion were (a) randomised controlled trials in which (b) participants in one arm underwent screening and received test results, and those in a control arm did not, and (c) emotional outcomes were assessed in both arms. MEDLINE via PubMed (1950 to present), EMBASE (1980 to present), PsycINFO (1985 to present) using OVID SP, and CINAHL (1982 to present) via EBSCO were searched, using strategies developed with keywords and medical subject headings. Data were extracted on emotional outcomes, type of screening test and test results.
resultsOf the 12 studies that met the inclusion criteria, six involved screening for cancer, two for diabetes, and one each for abdominal aortic aneurysms, peptic ulcer, coronary heart disease and osteoporosis. Five studies reported data on anxiety, five [corrected] on depression, two on general distress and eight on quality of life assessed between one week and 13 years after screening (median = 1.3 years).Meta-analyses revealed no significant impact of screening on longer term anxiety (pooled SMD 0.01, 95% CI -0.10, 0.11), depression (pooled SMD -0.04, 95% CI -.12, 0.20), or quality of life subscales (mental and self-assessed health pooled SMDs, respectively: 0.03; -0.01, (95% CI -.02, 0.04; 0.00, 95% CI -.04, 0.03).
conclusionScreening does not appear to have adverse emotional impacts in the longer term (> 4 weeks). Too few studies assessed outcomes before four weeks to comment on the shorter term emotional impact of screening.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.