Predictors of preventive breast cancer screening: Findings from a national dataset.

Abstract

e22500 Background: Breast cancer is a major health concern and is the most common cancer in women according to the American Cancer Society with 1 in 3 women diagnosed each year. Breast cancer screening with annual or biennial mammography for women 40 years and older has significantly decreased mortality. Our aim in this study is to assess factors predicting adherence to breast cancer screening in the United States. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of adult women using the 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Inclusion criteria were women 50-74 years of age who had a mammogram within 2 years as part of a routine exam and who didn’t have history of breast cancer. The US Preventive Screening Task Force guidelines were used. We analyzed demographic and behavioral variables in relation to reported breast cancer screening. SAS v9.4 was used to analyze the data in a manner that accounts for the NHIS complex sample survey design. Bivariate comparisons was performed using Chi-square test, all significance tests were two-sided, p-value < .05 for significance. This study has been approved by UND IRB. Results: Of the 6,334 women respondents, the 72.8% had a mammogram within the past two years. Women who reported having anxiety (p=.000), were underweight (p=.020), lacked health insurance (p=.000), were current smokers (p=.000), lived in rural areas (p=.003), and had poor general health (p=.000) were significantly less likely to have had a mammogram. Conclusions: We identified several modifiable risk factors for non-adherence to preventive breast cancer screening, particularly residing in rural areas gaining more interest in enhancing access to preventative cares. In North Dakota, most patients reside in rural areas, and there are ongoing efforts to provide high quality consistent preventive care. This creates a great opportunity to perform a quality improvement project to further optimize breast cancer screening in this population. Breast cancer remains a complex, heterogeneous disease. Serial screening with mammography is the most effective method to detect early-stage disease and decrease mortality. Promoting breast cancer screening among currently low screened women may reduce future health disparities.