Mammography use among women ages 40-49 after the 2009 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation

Abstract

Background: In 2009, the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force changed its recommendation regarding screening mammography in average-risk women aged 40-49 years.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of the 2009 recommendation on reported mammogram use in a population-based survey.

Design: Secondary data analysis of data collected in the 2006, 2008, and 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys.

Participants: Women ages 40-74 years in the 50 states and Washington, DC who were not pregnant at time of survey and reported data on mammogram use during the 2006, 2008, or 2010 survey.

Main measures: Mammogram use was compared between women ages 40-49 and women ages 50-74 before and after the recommendation. We performed a difference-in-difference estimation adjusted for access to care, education, race, and health status, and stratified analyses by whether women reported having a routine checkup in the prior year.

Key results: Reported prevalence of mammogram use in the past year among women ages 40-49 and 50-74 was 53.2 % and 65.2 %, respectively in 2008, and 51.7 % and 62.4 % in 2010. In 2010, mammography use did not significantly decline from 2006-2008 in women ages 40-49 relative to women ages 50-74.

Conclusion: There was no reduction in mammography use among younger women in 2010 compared to older women and previous years. Patients and providers may have been hesitant to comply with the 2009 recommendation.

Figure 1.

Average predicted probabilities of mammography by age group among those who had a checkup in the past year.

Figure 2.

Average predicted probabilities of mammography by age group among those who did not have a checkup in the past year.