Effects of spouses on distress experienced by BRCA1 mutation carriers over time

Concerns about psychological distress have arisen regarding genetic testing for susceptibility to late-onset diseases such as breast and/or ovarian cancer. Early results do not show large-scale psychological distress among those tested; therefore, research is now focusing on identifying subgroups that may be at risk for negative outcomes. Social support has been shown to buffer both negative physical and psychological outcomes in health research. The role of spouses as part of the tested person's social support system is shown to be significant in a sample of 57 BRCA1 mutation carriers. Separately, the tested person's perception of his/her spouse's anxiety and his/her perception of the spouse's support at the time of testing are predictive of the tested person's psychological distress up to 2 years after testing. The interaction of the two variables is even more predictive. For those tested who perceived their spouse to be both anxious and nonsupportive at the time of testing, distress levels reached clinically significant levels 1 week after results were received and remained above clinical threshold measured 4 months, 1 year, and 2 years after testing. While the effects were greatest for women, they were significant for both male and female carriers. These findings are an important addition to the literature and will augment clinicians' ability to identify individuals potentially at risk for negative responses to adverse genetic test results.