Fear of being judged and embarrassed are among the reasons

Why patients lie to their doctors

 

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA (November 30, 2018) – When your doctor asks how often you exercise, do you give her an honest answer? How about when she asks what you’ve been eating lately? If you’ve ever stretched the truth, you’re not alone. 60 to 80 percent of people surveyed have not been forthcoming with their doctors about information that could be relevant to their health, according to a new study. Besides fibbing about diet and exercise, more than a third of respondents didn’t speak up when they disagreed with their doctor’s recommendation. Another common scenario was failing to admit they didn’t understand their clinician’s instructions.

When respondents explained why they weren’t transparent, most said that they wanted to avoid being judged, and didn’t want to be lectured about how bad certain behaviors were. More than half were simply too embarrassed to tell the truth.

„Most people want their doctor to think highly of them,“ says the study’s senior author Angela Fagerlin, Ph.D., chair of population health sciences at U of U Health and a research scientist with the VA Salt Lake City Health System’s Informatics Decision-Enhancement and Analytic Sciences (IDEAS) Center for Innovation.

„They’re worried about being pigeonholed as someone who doesn’t make good decisions,“ she adds.

Scientists at University of Utah Health and Middlesex Community College led the research study in collaboration with colleagues at University of Michigan and University of Iowa. The results will be published online in JAMA Network Open on November 30, 2018.

Insights into the doctor-patient relationship came from a national online survey of two populations. One survey captured responses from 2,011 participants who averaged 36 years old. The second was administered to 2,499 participants who were 61 on average.

Survey-takers were presented with seven common scenarios where a patient might feel inclined to conceal health behaviors from their clinician, and asked to select all that they had ever happened to them. Participants were then asked to recall why they made that choice. The survey was developed with input from physicians, psychologists, researchers and patients, and refined through pilot testing with the general public.

In both surveys, people who identified themselves as female, were younger, and self-reported as being in poor health were more likely to report having failed to disclose medically relevant information to their clinician.

„I’m surprised that such a substantial number of people chose to withhold relatively benign information, and that they would admit to it,“ says the study’s first author Andrea Gurmankin Levy, Ph.D., MBe, an associate professor in social sciences at Middlesex Community College in Middletown, Connecticut. „We also have to consider the interesting limitation that survey participants might have withheld information about what they withheld, which would mean that our study has underestimated how prevalent this phenomenon is.“

The trouble with a patient’s dishonesty is that doctors can’t offer accurate medical advice when they don’t have all the facts.

„If patients are withholding information about what they’re eating, or whether they are taking their medication, it can have significant implications for their health. Especially if they have a chronic illness,“ says Levy.

Understanding the issue more in-depth could point toward ways to fix the problem. Levy and Fagerlin hope to repeat the study and talk with patients immediately after clinical appointments, while the experience is still fresh in their minds. Person-to-person interviews could help identify other factors that influence clinician-patient interactions. For instance, are patients more open with doctors they’ve known for years?

The possibility suggests that patients may not be the only ones to blame, says Fagerlin. „How providers are communicating in certain situations may cause patients to be hesitant to open up,“ she says. „This raises the question, is there a way to train clinicians to help their patients feel more comfortable?“ After all, a healthy conversation is a two-way street.

—-

 

„Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Patient Nondisclosure of Medically Relevant Information to Clinicians“ publishes online in JAMA Network Open on Nov. 13, 2018.

In addition to Fagerlin and Levy, Aaron Scherer from University of Iowa, Brian Zikmund-Fisher and Geoffrey Barnes from University of Michigan, and Knoll Larkin from Wayne State University were co-authors on the study.

 

IMAGE: Up to 80 percent of those surveyed have lied to their doctor about information that could impact their health, including describing their diet and how often they exercise. Survey participants explained that they wanted to avoid being judged and didn’t want to be lectured about how bad certain behaviors were. Credit: Bradley Knickerbocker

 


University of Utah Health, 30.11.2018 (tB).

Schlagwörter: ,

MEDICAL NEWS

IU School of Medicine researchers develop blood test for anxiety
COVID-19 pandemic increased rates and severity of depression, whether people…
COVID-19: Bacterial co-infection is a major risk factor for death,…
Regenstrief-led study shows enhanced spiritual care improves well-being of ICU…
Hidden bacteria presents a substantial risk of antimicrobial resistance in…

SCHMERZ PAINCARE

Hydromorphon Aristo® long ist das führende Präferenzpräparat bei Tumorschmerz
Sorgen und Versorgen – Schmerzmedizin konkret: „Sorge als identitätsstiftendes Element…
Problem Schmerzmittelkonsum
Post-Covid und Muskelschmerz
Kopfschmerz bei Übergebrauch von Schmerz- oder Migränemitteln

DIABETES

Wie das Dexom G7 abstrakte Zahlen mit Farben greifbar macht…
Diabetes mellitus: eine der großen Volkskrankheiten im Blickpunkt der Schmerzmedizin
Suliqua®: Einfacher hin zu einer guten glykämischen Kontrolle
Menschen mit Diabetes während der Corona-Pandemie unterversorgt? Studie zeigt auffällige…
Suliqua® zur Therapieoptimierung bei unzureichender BOT

ERNÄHRUNG

Positiver Effekt der grünen Mittelmeerdiät auf die Aorta
Natriumaufnahme und Herz-Kreislaufrisiko
Tierwohl-Fleisch aus Deutschland nur mäßig attraktiv in anderen Ländern
Diät: Gehirn verstärkt Signal an Hungersynapsen
Süßigkeiten verändern unser Gehirn

ONKOLOGIE

Strahlentherapie ist oft ebenso effizient wie die OP: Neues vom…
Zanubrutinib bei chronischer lymphatischer Leukämie: Zusatznutzen für bestimmte Betroffene
Eileiter-Entfernung als Vorbeugung gegen Eierstockkrebs akzeptiert
Antibiotika als Störfaktor bei CAR-T-Zell-Therapie
Bauchspeicheldrüsenkrebs: Spezielle Diät kann Erfolg der Chemotherapie beeinflussen

MULTIPLE SKLEROSE

Multiple Sklerose: Aktuelle Immunmodulatoren im Vergleich
Neuer Biomarker für Verlauf von Multipler Sklerose
Multiple Sklerose: Analysen aus Münster erhärten Verdacht gegen das Epstein-Barr-Virus
Aktuelle Daten zu Novartis Ofatumumab und Siponimod bestätigen Vorteil des…
Multiple Sklerose durch das Epstein-Barr-Virus – kommt die MS-Impfung?

PARKINSON

Meilenstein in der Parkinson-Forschung: Neuer Alpha-Synuclein-Test entdeckt die Nervenerkrankung vor…
Neue Erkenntnisse für die Parkinson-Therapie
Cochrane Review: Bewegung hilft, die Schwere von Bewegungssymptomen bei Parkinson…
Technische Innovationen für eine maßgeschneiderte Parkinson-Diagnostik und Therapie
Biomarker und Gene: neue Chancen und Herausforderungen für die Parkinson-Diagnose…