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Genetic Counseling Outcomes: Perceived Risk and Distress After Counseling for Hereditary Colorectal Cancer

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Journal of Genetic Counseling

Abstract

Genetic counseling may turn risk information into cancer prevention behavior by modifying health beliefs and cancer-related distress. We assessed the effect of genetic counseling on these factors in 101 adult first-degree-relatives of colorectal cancer patients from families with known or suspected hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer. Before counseling and once afterward, subjects completed self-report measures of perceived lifetime risk and cancer-distress. Most persons overestimated their cancer risk, and higher perceived risk was associated with believing that colorectal cancer cannot be prevented. Individual perceived risk changed after counseling, although mean perceived risk was unchanged. After adjusting for baseline risk, older persons and those with higher estimated objective cancer risk had larger postcounseling decreases. Distress after counseling was positively correlated with baseline distress and anxiety symptoms, and inversely correlated with tolerance for ambiguity. The findings suggest counseling interventions that should increase the likelihood of screening and offer hypotheses for future research.

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Author notes

  1. Tracy Waldeck

    Present address: National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland

    Ann-Marie Codori PhD, Tracy Waldeck & Miriam A. Tillery

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota

    Gloria M. Petersen

  3. Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, Washington

    Diana Miglioretti

  4. Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

    Diana Miglioretti

  5. Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland

    Jill D. Trimbath

  6. Johns Hopkins Hospital, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Meyer 218, Baltimore, Maryland, 21287-7218

    Ann-Marie Codori PhD

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Codori, AM., Waldeck, T., Petersen, G.M. et al. Genetic Counseling Outcomes: Perceived Risk and Distress After Counseling for Hereditary Colorectal Cancer. J Genet Counsel 14, 119–132 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-005-4062-2

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