Comparison of various characteristics of women who do and do not attend for breast cancer screening

Breast Cancer Research

Carole Lole Harris²  Jon Elliman¹  Sarah Taylor⁴  Ruth English⁵  Gillian Reeves³  Diana Bull³  Isobel Barnes³  Nicola Langley³  Ann Hogg³  Rebecca Cameron³  Valerie Beral³  Emily Banks³ 

[1] Kingswood Surgery, Park North, Swindon, UK;Deer Park Surgery, Witney, UK;Imperial Cancer Research Fund Cancer Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, UK;Breast Care Unit, Princess Margaret Hospital, Swindon, UK;Breast Care Unit, Oxford Radcliffe Hospital NHS Trust, Oxford, UK

关键词: United Kingdom;    The Million Women Study;    mammography;    breast screening;    attendance;   

Others  :  1118833
DOI  :  10.1186/bcr418

 received in 2001-06-14, accepted in 2001-09-19,  发布年份 2001

【 摘 要 】

Background

Information regarding the characteristics and health of women who do and do not attend for breast cancer screening is limited and representative data are difficult to obtain.

Methods

Information on age, deprivation and prescriptions for various medications was obtained for all women at two UK general practices who were invited to breast cancer screening through the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme. The characteristics of women who attended and did not attend screening were compared.

Results

Of the 1064 women invited to screening from the two practices, 882 (83%) attended screening. Screening attenders were of a similar age to non-attenders but came from significantly less deprived areas (30% of attenders versus 50% of non-attenders came from the most deprived areas, P < 0.0001) and were more likely to have a current prescription for hormone replacement therapy (32% versus 19%, P < 0.0001). No significant differences in recent prescriptions of medication for hypertension, heart disease, hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes mellitus, asthma, thyroid disease or depression/anxiety were observed between attenders and non-attenders.

Conclusion

Women who attend the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme come from less deprived areas and are more likely to have a current prescription for hormone replacement therapy than non-attenders, but do not differ in terms of age or recent prescriptions for various other medications.

【 授权许可】

   
2002 BioMed Central Ltd

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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