Table 4.
Qualitative study themes —note that the number of themes does not add to number of studies because some studies had multiple themes
| Theme | AAA studies | PCa studies |
| Shock | 24 5 | 36–8 |
| Anxiety | 25 9 | 26 10 |
| Fatalism | 34 5 9 | 36 8 10 |
| Distress | 15 | 110 |
| Burden about protecting others from worrying (especially family members) | 25 9 | 16 |
| Guilt/regret | 25 9 | – |
| Helplessness/powerlessness | 15 | – |
| Uncertainty | 24 5 | – |
| Depression | – | 110 |
| Denial | – | 110 |
| Loneliness | – | 36 8 10 |
| Psychological impact of sexual dysfunction | – | 16 |
AAA, abdominal aortic aneurysm; PCa, prostate cancer.