Table 6.
Contributing factors to scanxiety
| Variable | Comparison | Effect on scanxiety | Studies | N | P value* |
| Age | Younger versus older | More prevalent | 1 | 398 | 0.00841 |
| No difference in prevalence | 2 | 338 | NS28 50 | ||
| More severe | 5 | 1883 | 0.005,45 <0.01,20 <0.01 (for screening),70 0.01,24 NR63 | ||
| No difference in severity | 11 | 6804 | NS,22 27 36 37 42 43 49 51 59 62 NS (for surveillance)70 | ||
| Gender | Men versus women | More prevalent | 1 | 200 | <0.00139 |
| Less prevalent | 1 | 298 | 0.02141 | ||
| No difference in prevalence | 1 | 106 | NS28 | ||
| More severe | 1 | 232 | 0.033 (postscan)50 | ||
| Less severe | 2 | 1381 | 0.000,47 <0.0557 | ||
| No difference in severity | 5 | 580 | NS37 49 51 59, NS (prescan)50 | ||
| Ethnicity | White versus other races | More severe | 1 | 143 | NR63 |
| Maori and Pacific Islanders versus New Zealand European or Asian | More severe | 1 | 584 | <0.00127 | |
| Any | No difference in severity | 5 | 1454 | NS22 24 37 40 49 | |
| Education | Lower versus higher | More prevalent | 1 | 398 | <0.00141 |
| No difference in prevalence | 2 | 338 | NS28 50 | ||
| More severe | 8 | 7400 | 0.003,62 0.007,36 <0.01,22 ≤0.01,42 0.012,24 0.018,27 0.04,43 <0.0523 | ||
| No difference in severity | 6 | 591 | NS37 49 51 59 63 69 | ||
| Employment | Unemployed versus employed | More prevalent | 1 | 398 | 0.04641 |
| More severe | 3 | 5056 | 0.01,43 0.05,23 ≤0.0542 | ||
| No difference in severity | 2 | 654 | NS27 37 | ||
| Income | Higher versus lower | No difference in severity | 3 | 757 | NS27 37 49 |
| Marital status | Married or de facto versus single | More severe | 1 | 637 | ≤0.01 (using IES – intrusion subscale)42 |
| No difference in severity | 5 | 1790 | NS24 36 37 49, NS (using STAI – state anxiety subscale)42 | ||
| Children | Children versus no children | No difference in severity | 3 | 5206 | NS24 37 43 |
| Smoking status | Current versus non-smoking† | More severe | 3 | 4562 | <0.001,43 54 0.03147 |
| No difference in severity | 2 | 330 | NS40 49 | ||
| Reason for scan | Diagnostic versus screening | More severe | 3 | 1104 | 0.007,41 0.047,36 NR62 |
| Staging or surveillance versus monitoring | More severe | 1 | 200 | <0.00139 | |
| Lower versus higher referral clarity | More severe | 1 | 169 | 0.04854 | |
| Type of scan | MRI versus mammogram | More severe | 1 | 49 | 0.00948 |
| Less severe | 1 | 637 | NR42 | ||
| CT versus MRI | More severe | 1 | 36 | 0.00744 | |
| Less severe | 1 | 115 | NR52 | ||
| PET versus CT | More severe | 1 | 82 | 0.0133 | |
| Nuclear medicine scan versus non-nuclear medicine scan | More severe | 1 | 398 | 0.00441 | |
| MRI versus PET/CT | No difference in severity | 2 | 142 | NS52 53 | |
| CT versus PET versus chest X-ray | No difference in severity | 1 | 59 | NS34 | |
| Bone scan versus PET scan | More severe | 1 | 94 | <0.001 (postscan)59 | |
| No difference in severity | 1 | 94 | NS (prescan)59 | ||
| Scan-naïve | First versus subsequent scans | More prevalent | 1 | 398 | 0.00141 |
| No difference in prevalence | 1 | 200 | NS39 | ||
| More severe | 5 | 3796 | <0.0005,38 <0.01,25 <0.02,19 <0.05,67 NR66 | ||
| Less severe | 1 | 93 | 0.03836 | ||
| No difference in severity | 6 | 2491 | NS24 27 50 51 59 62 | ||
| Pain | Pain versus no pain during scan | More severe | 6 | 4291 | <0.0001,25 <0.001,27 0.001,62 <0.01,23 69 <0.0522 |
| Risk of cancer | Past history versus no history of cancer | More severe | 2 | 864 | ≤0.001,42 <0.0540 |
| Less severe | 1 | 434 | 0.01345 | ||
| No difference in severity | 3 | 1206 | NS15 24 58 | ||
| Family history versus no family history of cancer | More severe | 1 | 584 | 0.00227 | |
| No difference in severity | 3 | 1255 | NS15 24 36 | ||
| Mutation carrier versus not a carrier | More severe | 1 | 88 | <0.05 (three comparisons, using IES cancer – Intrusion and Avoidance subscales, and postscan Health Questionnaire)58 | |
| No difference | 1 | 88 | NS (five comparisons, using HADS- Anxiety subscale, Cancer Worry Scale – Revised, IES MRI – Intrusion and Avoidance subscales, and prescan Health Questionnaire)58 | ||
| Higher, not otherwise specified versus lower | More severe | 1 | 70 | <0.0537 | |
| Perceived risk of cancer | Higher versus lower | More severe | 3 | 1545 | <0.001,27 ≤0.00142 <0.0130 |
*The p values listed in this table were reported by individual studies based on their own datasets. This scoping review has not performed additional analysis or attempted quantitative comparisons between studies.
†One study compared current smokers versus former smokers,54 and one study compared current and former smokers versus never smokers.49
HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; IES, Impact of Event Scale; NR, not reported; NS, not significant; STAI, State Trait Anxiety Inventory.