ArticleBMC family practice2015
Symptom attributions in patients with colorectal cancer.
Article in BMC family practice, 2015. 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 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Integrated perspectives on colorectal carcinogenesis: molecular pathogenesis, genomic alterations, diagnostic paradigms, therapeutic interventions and AI-driven directions in precision oncology.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Factors influencing symptom appraisal and help-seeking of older adults with possible cancer: a mixed-methods systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2022Article
- General insight into cancer: An overview of colorectal cancer (Review).Molecular and clinical oncology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSymptoms of cancer may be interpreted differently by different patients before the diagnosis. This study investigated symptom attributions in Danish patients with colorectal cancer and the potential associations with symptom type, socio-demographic characteristics and patient interval.
methodsData were collected among incident colorectal cancer patients (n = 577, response rate 64.2 %), who were asked to think back on the time before their diagnosis when completing the questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised a Danish version of the revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) with questions on 19 symptom attributions. These 19 attribitutions were categorised into five causal groups for statistical analyses. The patient interval (i.e. the time from the patient's first symptom experience to presentation to the healthcare system) was assessed in the same questionnaire. Data on socio-demographic characteristics were obtained by using nationwide registers from Statistics Denmark.
resultsPatients who experienced 'blood in stool' as the most important symptom were more likely to attribute this to cancer (PR(ad) 1.94, 95 % CI 1.46-2.58) and benign somatic causes (PR(ad) 1.36, 95 % CI 1.05-1.76), such as haemorrhoids, compared to patients who did not perceive this symptom as the most important. Socio-demographic characteristics were also associated with symptom attribution. Patients with higher educational levels were less likely to attribute their most important symptom to psychological causes (PR(ad) 0.57, 95 % CI 0.34-0.96) than patients with lower educational levels. Patients with rectal cancer attributed their most important symptom to a benign somatic cause more often than patients with colon cancer (PR(ad) 1.34, 95 % CI 1.02-1.77). [corrected].
conclusionsSymptom attribution in patients was associated with aspects of socio-demography and with the symptom type perceived by the patient as the most important. No significant associations were found between symptom attributions and patient interval. These results have implications for general practice as symptom attributions may prompt patients to present symptoms in a certain way and thereby influence the general practitioner's assessment of presented symptoms.
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