Table 1.
General characteristics of the participants (n = 942)
| All women N = 942 |
Low risk N = 236 |
Average risk N = 228 |
Moderate risk N = 239 |
High risk N = 239 |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 59.0 | (6.3) | 58.7 | (6.3) | 58.6 | (6.5) | 58.9 | (5.9) | 59.8 | (6.3) |
| Education level, n (%) | ||||||||||
| Lower education | 249 | (26.4) | 65 | (27.6) | 58 | (25.4) | 63 | (26.4) | 63 | (26.4) |
| Higher secondary education | 372 | (39.5) | 82 | (34.7) | 97 | (42.5) | 96 | (40.2) | 97 | (40.6) |
| Higher vocational qualification | 321 | (34.1) | 89 | (37.7) | 73 | (32.1) | 80 | (33.4) | 79 | (33.0) |
| Marital status, n living with partner (%) | 729 | (77.3) | 187 | (79.2) | 180 | (78.9) | 188 | (78.7) | 174 | (72.8) |
| First-degree family history breast cancer, n yes (%) | 204 | (21.7) | 47 | (19.9) | 52 | (22.8) | 47 | (19.7) | 58 | (24.3) |
| Body mass index (kg/m2), mean (SD)a | 26.3 | (4.8) | 26.5 | (4.9) | 26.1 | (4.6) | 26.6 | (5.5) | 26.0 | (4.1) |
| Medical condition, n ≥ 2 diagnosed (%)b | 424 | (45.0) | 119 | (50.4) | 96 | (42.1) | 103 | (43.1) | 106 | (44.4) |
| Current medication use, n yes (%) | 391 | (41.5) | 109 | (46.2) | 85 | (37.3) | 91 | (38.1) | 106 | (44.4) |
| Current MHTc use, n yes (%) | 33 | (3.5) | 9 | (3.8) | 5 | (2.2) | 12 | (5.0) | 7 | (3.0) |
| Benign breast disease, n yes (%) | 272 | (28.9) | 79 | (33.5) | 64 | (28.1) | 68 | (28.5) | 61 | (25.5) |
| Perceived breast cancer risk (%) | ||||||||||
| Low | 182 | (19.3) | 48 | (20.3) | 44 | (19.3) | 47 | (19.7) | 43 | (18.0) |
| Below average | 186 | (19.7) | 45 | (19.1) | 49 | (21.5) | 40 | (16.7) | 52 | (21.8) |
| Average | 498 | (52.9) | 126 | (53.4) | 121 | (53.1) | 130 | (54.4) | 121 | (50.6) |
| Moderate | 54 | (5.7) | 10 | (4.2) | 10 | (4.4) | 16 | (6.7) | 18 | (7.5) |
| High | 5 | (0.5) | 2 | (0.8) | 1 | (0.4) | 1 | (0.4) | 1 | (0.4) |
| Missing value | 17 | (1.8) | 5 | (2.1) | 3 | (1.3) | 5 | (2.1) | 4 | (1.7) |
| General health score, mean (SD) | 82.1 | (14.2) | 81.3 | (14.4) | 81.7 | (15.5) | 83.8 | (12.8) | 81.5 | (13.9) |
| Life events, n ≥ 2 (%)d | 264 | (28.0) | 74 | (31.4) | 64 | (28.1) | 63 | (26.4) | 63 | (26.4) |
| HLOCe, n (%) | ||||||||||
| Internal | 300 | (31.8) | 78 | (33.1) | 69 | (30.3) | 73 | (30.5) | 80 | (33.5) |
| Physician | 67 | (7.1) | 11 | (4.7) | 11 | (4.8) | 27 | (11.3) | 18 | (7.5) |
| Chance | 447 | (47.5) | 115 | (48.7) | 111 | (48.7) | 107 | (44.8) | 114 | (47.7) |
| No clear preference | 113 | (12.0) | 29 | (12.3) | 34 | (14.9) | 27 | (11.3) | 23 | (9.6) |
| Missing value | 15 | (1.6) | 3 | (1.3) | 3 | (1.3) | 5 | (2.1) | 4 | (1.7) |
| Belief in medicines, mean (SD) | ||||||||||
| Harm | 9.0 | (2.5) | 9.0 | (2.5) | 9.2 | (26.7) | 9.0 | (2.5) | 9.0 | (2.5) |
| Overuse | 11.5 | (3.3) | 11.6 | (3.3) | 11.6 | (3.4) | 11.6 | (3.3) | 11.3 | (3.3) |
| Health anxiety, mean (SD) | 7.7 | (4.0) | 7.6 | (4.1) | 7.7 | (3.8) | 7.6 | (3.8) | 7.8 | (4.2) |
a7 women with missing value (0.7%); b ≥ 2 medical diagnosis to indicate co-morbidity; c MHT = menopausal hormone therapy; d ≥ 2 life events to enable meaningful group comparisons; e HLOC = health locus of control