Increased prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm in brothers of patients with such an aneurysm

Objective. To determine the prevalance of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in brothers of patients who underwent elective AAA surgery and to determine the psychological distress caused by the screening. Design. Prevalence study. Method. Brothers older than 50 years of patients who underwent elective AAA surgery in the period May 1st 1993-April 30th 1995 were invited for abdominal ultrasonographic aneurysm screening. They were asked to complete a standard psychological wellbeing questionnaire both before and 3 months after screening (subscales: depression, anxiety, energy, and positive wellbeing). Results. 571 brothers older than 50 years 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. 210 subjects accepted the offer of screening. A new AAA was detected in 26 (12.4%; 95% confidence interval: 8-18) of the men screened, resulting in an overall prevalence of 17% (13-23). Eight (3.8%) aneurysms were ≥ 5 cm in diameter and elective surgery was performed in 5 of these patients. The psychological dimensions of wellbeing had not changed significantly 3 months after screening. Conclusion. The prevalence of AAA in brothers of patients with AAA was far higher (17%) than in the overall male population of the same age (8%). Screening had no measurable negative influence on psychological wellbeing