Long-term psychological effects of carrier testing and prenatal diagnosis of haemophilia: Comparison with a control group

• The long-term psychological effects resulting from carrier testing and prenatal diagnosis (PD) of haemophilia were evaluated by comparing mental symptomatology scores (Symptom Check List, SCL-90) for 50 carriers of haemophilia who had undergone PD about five years earlier, 55 carriers who had not undergone PD and 262 control women who were not carriers. All of the women had children. Carrier testing for haemophilia per se and in combination with PD does not appear to have negative long-term psychological effects. A low tendency for somatization seems to be a factor characteristic of carriers considering PD for haemophilia and it was particularly salient when carriers had to consider the more invasive late PD procedures (amniocentesis and fetal blood sampling). Women who performed late PD appeared to represent a positive selection of carriers for whom a good sense of coherence and social support protected them from negative long-term psychological effects. It is reassuring that early PD by CVS, which is the current method of choice for PD for haemophilia, did not appear to have negative long-term psychological effects, even for women who had had an early abortion following PD.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Reproduktionsmedicin och gynekologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Carrier testing

Follow-up study

Haemophilia

Prenatal diagnosis

Psychology

abortion

adult

amniocentesis

article

chorion villus sampling

controlled study

female

fetus blood sampling

genetic screening

hemophilia

heterozygote

human

major clinical study

prenatal diagnosis

priority journal

psychology

social support

somatization

symptomatology

Publikations- och innehållstyp

art (ämneskategori)

ref (ämneskategori)