Colposcopy
Colposcopy


What is colposcopy?

Home
What's New - Blog
Abortion
Amenorrhoea - Absent Periods
Birth Control
Bladder Symptoms
Cancer in Women
Diet / Weight Loss
Dysmenorrhoea
Ectopic Pregnancy
Endometriosis
Female Sexual Problems
Fibroids
HRT Risks & Benefits
Hysterectomy
Infections
Infertility
Medication - Drugs
Menopause
Menorrhagia Heavy Periods
Miscarriage
Painful Sex - Dyspareunia
Pap Smear Test
PCOS
Pelvic Pain
PMS- Premenstrual Syndrome
Pregnancy & Childbirth
Vaginal Discharge
Vaginal Prolapse
Viagra, Libido and Sex Drive.
The Author
Consultations
Contact Us


BJOG. 2008 Jan;115(2):212-8.

A 2-year follow-up study of anxiety and depression in women referred for colposcopy after an abnormal cervical smear.
Hellsten C, Sj?tr? K, Lindqvist PG.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Malm? University Hospital, Lund University, Malm? Sweden. charlotte.hellsten@med.lu.se

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to determine if there were any long-lasting elevated anxiety levels in women attending colposcopy after an abnormal cervical smear.

Design:

Prospective study.

Setting:

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Malm?University Hospital, Sweden. POPULATION: One hundred consecutive women were invited to participate when referred for colposcopy.

Methods:

Women in the study group completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale-self-rate (MADRS-S) and had a psychosocial interview prior to colposcopy at their two follow-up visits.

Main Outcome Measures:

State anxiety levels and depression scores at first visit, 6 months and 2 years.

Results:

At follow up, levels of state anxiety and the depression scores of the women studied had decreased and were comparable to those of Swedish normative data. Two variables from the MADRS-S, 'ability to focus on different activities' and 'emotional involvement with others and in activities' were the most prominent for women with moderate to severe depression. At the 2-year visit, 30% of the women still had a fear of cancer.

Conclusions:

Referral for colposcopy after an abnormal cervical smear does not seem to result in long-lasting anxiety and depression. However, a subgroup of women, with the initially highest depression scores, still had at 2-year state anxiety levels and depression scores significantly higher than normal. Almost one-third of the women still had a fear of cancer in spite of lower 2-year state anxiety levels.



Back Home Up

Please click on the required question.

Do you have an unanswered women's health question?

Please let us have your general question on our NEW FORUM / MESSAGE BOARDS facility and we will try to answer it for you. I am sure that you will appreciate that we cannot offer advice on the management of an individual's specific problem.


Thank you for your visiting us at 2WomensHealth.com.

This is the personal website of David A Viniker MD FRCOG, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Whipps Cross University Hospital, London.

I do hope that you find the answers to your questions in the patient information and medical advice provided. If you still have unanswered questions, please consider entering them into one of our forums and I will try to assist you.

DISCLAIMER

The aim of this web site is to provide a general guide and it is not intended as a substitute for a consultation with an appropriate specialist in respect of individual care and treatment.

Colposcopy