CC BY 4.0 · Aorta (Stamford) 2023; 11(05): 1-18
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1787939
IMAD 2024 Meeting Abstracts

Anxiety and Disease Awareness in Adult Offspring with Heredity for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Detecting AAA in Adult Offspring of AAA Patients (DAAAD)

Nina Fattahi
1   Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet at Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
,
Olga Nilsson
2   Department of Surgery, Section of Vascular Surgery, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
3   Department of Vascular Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital Stockholm, Sweden
4   Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Stockholm Aneurysm Research group, STAR, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
,
Sverker Svensjö
5   Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
6   Centre for Clinical Research, Falun, Sweden
,
Joy Roy
2   Department of Surgery, Section of Vascular Surgery, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
3   Department of Vascular Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital Stockholm, Sweden
4   Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Stockholm Aneurysm Research group, STAR, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
,
Anneli Linné
1   Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet at Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
,
Rebecka Hultgren
2   Department of Surgery, Section of Vascular Surgery, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
3   Department of Vascular Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital Stockholm, Sweden
4   Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Stockholm Aneurysm Research group, STAR, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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    Objective: In the recent Detecting AAA in adult offspring of AAA patients (DAAAD) project, the prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in the general population was low, but aortic pathology was notably higher among male adult off-spring to AAA patients. The psychological consequences of being aware of a such a risk as a first-degree relative to a person with intact or ruptured AAA, is hitherto unexplored. This study investigates the awareness of heritability and anxiety in male and female adult offspring to AAA patients compared to matched controls.

    Methods: Participants examined by ultrasound in DAAAD (752 adult offspring and 756 matched controls detected through national registries) also completed questionnaires for Health-related Quality of Life (HADS, EQ-5D), and study-specific questions regarding awareness of heritability. Health-related Quality of Life among participants with aortic pathology was also compared to participants with normal aortic diameters. Trials registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT4623268

    Results: Participation was higher among individuals with heredity compared to controls (67% vs 52%, p<0.001). A high awareness of having a close relative with AAA was reported in adult offspring (65% vs 6% in controls). The female and male adult offspring reported a higher general awareness of heritability than controls (38% vs 12%, p<0.001 in women, 32% vs 8%, p<0.001 in males). A majority of participants with awareness reported anxiety (54% in female offspring; 51% of male). [Figure 1]. HADS and EQ-5D findings were not different between the groups.

    Conclusion: The European guidelines regarding Aortic diseases recommend screening of first-degree relatives. Our results must be included in the implementation of such recommendations. The published high proportion of adult offspring with awareness of hereditability and a subsequent anxiety about a risk of developing AAA, calls for development of supportive tools in the communication of AAA-risk with patients and their next-of-kin.

    Zoom Image
    Fig. 1 Flowchart of the adult-offspring to patients detected in national registries, regarding their awareness of and anxiety for development of AAA, presented as proportion of the examined men and women.

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    No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

    Publication History

    Article published online:
    11 June 2024

    © 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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    Zoom Image
    Fig. 1 Flowchart of the adult-offspring to patients detected in national registries, regarding their awareness of and anxiety for development of AAA, presented as proportion of the examined men and women.