Thompson A, Dierick NR, Heiniger L, Kostalas SN. Health anxiety and work loss in patients diagnosed with serrated polyposis syndrome: A cross sectional study. World J Clin Oncol 2025; 16(2): 97107 [PMID: 39995560 DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i2.97107]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Stuart N Kostalas, FRACP, MBBS, MM, MSc, MBiostatistics, Associate Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Port Macquarie Gastroenterology, Suite 5 12 Highfields Circuit, Port Macquarie 2444, New South Wales, Australia. skostalas@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
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Prospective Study
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Thompson A, Dierick NR, Heiniger L, Kostalas SN. Health anxiety and work loss in patients diagnosed with serrated polyposis syndrome: A cross sectional study. World J Clin Oncol 2025; 16(2): 97107 [PMID: 39995560 DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i2.97107]
World J Clin Oncol. Feb 24, 2025; 16(2): 97107 Published online Feb 24, 2025. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i2.97107
Health anxiety and work loss in patients diagnosed with serrated polyposis syndrome: A cross sectional study
Angus Thompson, Natalie R Dierick, Louise Heiniger, Stuart N Kostalas
Angus Thompson, Natalie R Dierick, School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Port Macquarie 2444, New South Wales, Australia
Louise Heiniger, Stuart N Kostalas, Department of Gastroenterology, Port Macquarie Gastroenterology, Port Macquarie 2444, New South Wales, Australia
Author contributions: Thompson A study conception and design, collected and analyzed data, wrote the paper; Dierick NR collected and analyzed data, wrote the paper; Heiniger L analyzed data, wrote the paper; Kostalas SN study conception and design, collected and analyzed data, wrote the paper.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Social Sciences and Humanities Inter-divisional Research Ethics Committee (IDREC) at the University of Oxford.
Clinical trial registration statement: No clinical trial registration was performed for this study.
Informed consent statement: Informed verbal consent was obtained from all subjects and/or their legal guardian in accordance with the ethics approved by IDREC. All patients underwent written consent for the colonoscopy procedure.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Data sharing statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from Port Macquarie Gastroenterology, but restrictions apply to the availability of this data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not publicly available. The data however is available upon reasonable request and with permission. Please contact Stuart Kostalas to access the data.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Corresponding author: Stuart N Kostalas, FRACP, MBBS, MM, MSc, MBiostatistics, Associate Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Port Macquarie Gastroenterology, Suite 5 12 Highfields Circuit, Port Macquarie 2444, New South Wales, Australia. skostalas@gmail.com
Received: May 23, 2024 Revised: September 4, 2024 Accepted: November 8, 2024 Published online: February 24, 2025 Processing time: 202 Days and 5.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Serrated polyposis syndrome (SPS) is a polyposis condition with neoplastic potential, but its psychological impact is not well understood.
AIM
To assess health anxiety prevalence in a regional Australian cohort of SPS patients and explore factors influencing it, including workforce impacts of regular surveillance.
METHODS
This cross-sectional study screened patients aged 18-65 undergoing colonoscopy in a regional gastroenterology practice between January 2015 and June 2022. Eligible SPS patients were invited to participate. Data included the Short Health Anxiety Inventory, employment status, and previous demographic and medical findings.
RESULTS
Health anxiety was found in 21.57% of SPS patients, with anxious patients being significantly more concerned about surveillance (OR = 7.70). Patients lost an average of 11.04 work hours per colonoscopy.
CONCLUSION
Health anxiety in SPS patients aligns with rates in other gastroenterology populations. Identifying it may improve management, though further research is needed to better understand prevalence and care improvements.
Core Tip: Health anxiety in serrated polyposis syndrome (SPS) patients is similar to other gastroenterology patients. Loss of work due to scheduled colonoscopy bears consideration, especially given increased rate of SPS diagnosis.
