Assessment of psychological distress in patients with cervical dysplasia according to age, education, information acquisition and information level

• Published in: Archives of gynecology and obstetrics 2024-10, Vol.310 (4), p.2173-2181
• Main Authors: Scherer-Quenzer, Anne Cathrine, Herbert, Saskia-Laureen, Schlaiss, Tanja, Wöckel, Achim, Diessner, Joachim, Grunz, Jan-Peter, Findeis, Jelena, Kiesel, Matthias
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Educational Status; Endocrinology; Female; Gynecologic Oncology; Gynecology; Human Genetics; Humans; Information Seeking Behavior; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Obstetrics/Perinatology/Midwifery; Papanicolaou Test; Patient Education as Topic; Patients; Psychological Distress; Stress, Psychological - etiology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Uterine Cervical Dysplasia - psychology; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - psychology; Vaginal Smears - psychology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1432-0711; 0932-0067; 1432-0711
• DOI: 10.1007/s00404-024-07660-6

Purpose This study aims to investigate the psychological distress experienced by patients with an initial diagnosis of abnormal Pap smears or dysplastic changes of the cervix uteri. It investigated whether patients’ age, education, information level and approach to information acquisition have an impact on their psychological distress. Methods A total of 364 female patients, aged 20–80 years, referred to the special dysplasia consultation hour at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wuerzburg, completed a questionnaire containing validated items to assess information level, information acquisition, information needs and psychological distress, including a distress thermometer. Data from questionnaires and medical reports were used for analysis. Results The study found that 56.9% of patients experienced psychological distress before their first visit. Patients under 44 years of age, especially those with concerns about fertility and sexuality, and those with lower levels of education showed higher levels of distress ( p -value = 0.018 and p -value = 0.037). 40.9% of patients felt poorly informed and 53.7% of patients wanted more information before their visit. Correlational analysis showed that the method of obtaining information correlated with the desire for more information ( p -value