Results of aortic screening in the brothers of patients who had elective aortic aneurysm repair

BACKGROUND: Brothers of patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) are at high risk. In the present study brothers of patients who underwent elective AAA surgery were invited for aneurysm screening and the psychological consequences studied. METHODS: All brothers over the age of 50 years were invited for abdominal ultrasonography. They were asked to complete a standard psychological well-being questionnaire both before, and 3 months after screening. RESULTS: Some 571 brothers were identified: 251 were dead, 35 lived abroad, 16 could not be contacted for other reasons, 46 refused to participate and 13 were already known to have an AAA. Some 210 subjects (37.8 per cent) accepted the offer of screening. A new AAA was detected in 26 (12.3 per cent, 95 per cent confidence interval 8-18 per cent) of the men screened resulting in an overall prevalence of 18 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval 13-26 per cent). Eight (3.8 per cent) aneurysms were 5 cm or more in diameter and elective surgery was performed in five patients (2.4 per cent). The psychological dimensions of well-being (depression, anxiety, energy, and positive well-being) had not changed significantly 3 months after screening. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of AAA in brothers of patients with AAA is far higher than in the overall male population of the same age. Screening does not seem to have a negative influence on psychological well-being.