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Barriers to Mammogram Use Include Adverse Social Demographics

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on April 12, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, April 11, 2024 -- Among women aged 50 to 74 years, specific adverse social determinants of health (SDOH) and health-related social needs (HRSNs) are associated with not having had a mammogram in the past two years, according to research published in the April 9 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Jacqueline W. Miller, M.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues estimated the prevalence of mammography use within the previous two years among women aged 40 to 74 years using data from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

The researchers found that state-level mammography use varied from 64.0 to 85.5 percent among women aged 50 to 74 years. There was an association noted for having health insurance and a personal health care provider with having had a mammogram within the previous two years. Mammography prevalence was 83.2 and 65.7 percent for those with no adverse SDOH and HRSNs and for those with three or more adverse SDOH and HRSNs, respectively, among women aged 50 to 74 years. Strong associations with not having had a mammogram within the previous two years were seen for life dissatisfaction, feeling socially isolated, experiencing lost or reduced hours of employment, receiving food stamps, lacking reliable transportation, and reporting cost as a barrier for access to care.

"Health care facilities, providers, and public health programs could consider developing policies and effective practices to conduct risk assessments for adverse SDOH and HRSNs and address SDOH and HRSNs such as cost to access health care, social isolation, lack of reliable transportation, and food insecurity," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

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