Relationship Between Motherhood Status, Motherhood Desire, and Psychological Outcome Measures in Previvors, Women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations

Abstract

Previvors are women who have not yet had breast cancer but have a known BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA will be used for both) mutation. Depression screening tools and cancer worry surveys are important markers of overall psychological wellbeing. In this study 298 previvor patient intake forms were examined to identify the relationship between motherhood status, motherhood desire and the psychological outcomes of cancer worry and depression specifically in women with BRCA mutations. The 9 question Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Cancer Worry Scale (CWS) were the measures of psychological outcome. Quality assurance and data analyses were done in Excel and SPSS. Women with BRCA1 mutations were more likely to desire children and were significantly younger than women with BRCA2 mutations. In this study, 60.4% reported being a mother and 38.3% reported not being a mother and 92.3% of these women reported a family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer. There was no significant difference in psychological outcomes based on motherhood status and motherhood desire.