Does breast screening arouse anxiety?

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Abstract
Increasing attention is being paid to the actual and potential psychological costs of screening and other medical procedures (Marteau, 1989; Wardle & Pope, 1992). It has been suggested that the anxiety aroused by breast screening may significantly offset the benefits of early treatment and reduced mortality (Roberts, 1989; Schmidt, 1990; Tobias & Baum, 1996; Wright, 1986). This brief paper reviews the evidence concerning the psychological costs of breast screening, focusing on anxiety and distress. It summarizes the main points made in a recent detailed review of the literature (Sutton, 1998). While that paper discusses all the major published studies on anxiety and breast screening, the present paper limits discussion to two recent prospective studies (Sutton et al., 1995; Walker et al., 1994).