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Breast Cancer Screening in Women Aged 80 and Older: Results from a National Survey
Author(s) -
Schonberg Mara A.,
McCarthy Ellen P.,
Davis Roger B.,
Phillips Russell S.,
Hamel Mary B.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52462.x
Subject(s) - medicine , mammography , confidence interval , odds ratio , national health interview survey , gerontology , breast cancer screening , breast cancer , demography , population , cancer , gynecology , environmental health , sociology
Objectives: To estimate the national rates of mammography screening in women aged 80 and older and examine the relationship between health status and screening within the previous 2 years. Design: Population‐based survey. Setting: United States. Participants: Eight hundred eighty‐two women aged 80 and older who responded to the 2000 National Health Interview Survey, representing an estimated 3.83 million noninstitutionalized women nationally. Measurements: Screening mammography, disease burden, and functional status were assessed using a questionnaire. Results: Of the 882 women, 41.5% were aged 85 and older; 19.6% had two or more significant diseases; and 12.1% were dependent in at least one activity of daily living (ADL). More than half (50.8%) had received a screening mammogram within the previous 2 years. Women with two or more significant diseases were less likely to have received screening than those without significant disease, but the difference was not statistically significant (43.9% vs 54.0%, P =.152). Women dependent in at least one ADL were less likely to receive screening mammography than women without functional impairment (37.2% vs 55.9%, P <.001). After adjustment, the likelihood of screening remained lower in women with two or more significant diseases (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=0.63, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.40–1.05) and in women with at least one ADL dependency (AOR=0.44, 95% CI=0.22–0.88). Of 294 women likely to have life expectancies of less than 5 years because of poor health, 39.4% received screening mammography. Conclusion: More than half of women aged 80 and older in the United States receive screening mammograms. Nearly 40% of women very unlikely to benefit because of poor health received screening mammography.