Table 1.

Study eligibility criteria (studies meeting these criteria are included)

	Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria
Population	Studies enrolling asymptomatic patients diagnosed with localised PCa or AAA through screening.	Studies of men diagnosed with advanced PCa or AAA >5.5 cm.
Exposure	Recent PCa or AAA diagnosis; we included studies of asymptomatic patients diagnosed with PCa or AAA either before deciding on treatment or who recently decided to receive active surveillance or watchful waiting. All participants must have completed a psychological assessment soon after diagnosis.	Studies assessing patients already undergoing treatment or where current treatment could not be determined. Studies that assessed the psychological effects of patients with false positive or indeterminant screening results, studies of ‘predisease states’ and genetic screening.
Comparison	Unlabelled similar control group preferred but not required; control assessment of participants before labelling preferred but not required. Consideration of relevant control group was done after eligibility was assessed.
Outcome	Any validated measure of psychological status, suicide and psychiatric problems.	Non-psychological outcomes, such as screening behaviour, satisfaction with care, risk perception, changes in decision making or knowledge. Studies that only assess sexual function, incontinence, relationships, intimacy outcomes or effects in family members. Studies without the desired causal direction, such as psychological state as a predictor of disease exacerbation.
Time frame	Studies that assessed psychological status within 3 months of diagnosis or within a mean of 6 months. Studies in which psychological state was assessed by the patient in retrospect (eg, by asking patients at a later time how they were doing soon after diagnosis). Studies where time since diagnosis was unclear, if wording such as ‘recent diagnosis’ was used or if patients were assessed before their first clinic appointment.
Study design	Original, empirical research in any study design.	Commentaries, editorials and reviews.
Setting	Research conducted in the USA or countries with populations and services similar to the USA (ie, OECD countries).	Research conducted in a non-OECD country.
Language	Studies published in English.	Publications not available in English.

AAA, abdominal aortic aneurysm; OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; PCa, prostate cancer.