Predicting reattendance at a high-risk breast cancer clinic

Objective: The research about follow-up patterns of women attending high-risk breast-cancer clinics is sparse. This study sought to profile daughters of breast-cancer patients who are likely to return versus those unlikely to return for follow-up care in a high-risk clinic. Method: Our investigation included 131 patients attending the UCLA Revlon Breast Center High Risk Clinic. Predictor variables included age, computed breast-cancer risk, participants' perceived personal risk, clinically significant depressive symptomatology (CES–D score ≥ 16), current level of anxiety (State–Trait Anxiety Inventory), and survival status of participants' mothers (survived or passed away from breast cancer). Results: A greater likelihood of reattendance was associated with older age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.07,p= 0.004), computed breast-cancer risk (AOR= 1.10,p= 0.017), absence of depressive symptomatology (AOR= 0.25,p= 0.009), past psychiatric diagnosis (AOR= 3.14,p= 0.029), and maternal loss to breast cancer (AOR= 2.59,p= 0.034). Also, an interaction was found between mother's survival and perceived risk (p= 0.019), such that reattendance was associated with higher perceived risk among participants whose mothers survived (AOR= 1.04,p= 0.002), but not those whose mothers died (AOR= 0.99,p= 0.685). Furthermore, a nonlinear inverted “U” relationship was observed between state anxiety and reattendance (p= 0.037); participants with moderate anxiety were more likely to reattend than those with low or high anxiety levels. Results: Demographic, medical, and psychosocial factors were found to be independently associated with reattendance to a high-risk breast-cancer clinic. Explication of the profiles of women who may or may not reattend may serve to inform the development and implementation of interventions to increase the likelihood of follow-up care.