Screening Mammography Rates Are Falling Short

DENVER – Even before the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued its controversial 2009 recommendation, only a slim majority of women with health insurance were getting even one mammogram every 2 years.

Thus, the utilization rate for mammography – be it standard, digital, or MRI – remains well below recommendations, Judie Mopsik said at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

She presented an analysis of longitudinal medical claims data for 4.5 million women aged 18 years or older covered by a national health insurance company with 20 million enrollees.

These were women with full access to preventive care. During the study period, 2006-2008, 1.9 million of the 4.5 million women had a mammogram.

The mammographic screening rate during this 2-year window was 9% among 18- to 39-year-olds.

The rate was 53% among women aged 40-49 years, a group for whom routine screening isn't recommended in the latest USPSTF guidelines.

At the time of the study, however, the USPSTF's previous guidelines were in effect, and those guidelines recommended mammography every 1-2 years starting at age 40, noted Ms. Mopsik, who is president of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics and vice president for business development at the Lewin Group in Falls Church, Va.

The screening rate within the 2-year study window was 59% among women in their 50s, for whom mammography is routinely recommended at least once every 2 years.

And the screening rate was 49% in women aged 60 years or older.

Among women who had two or more mammograms during the 2-year study period, the majority – 56%-84% depending upon the age group – had their most recent mammogram within 11-18 months of their prior mammogram.

This is the population of assiduous adherents to preventive medicine likely to find particularly troubling the USPSTF's reversal of its longtime guidelines calling for screening every 1-2 years, particularly since the American Cancer Society still recommends annual mammography starting at age 40 years.

The study was supported by the National Center for Health Statistics. Ms. Mopsik declared having no relevant financial interests.

DENVER – Even before the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued its controversial 2009 recommendation, only a slim majority of women with health insurance were getting even one mammogram every 2 years.

Thus, the utilization rate for mammography – be it standard, digital, or MRI – remains well below recommendations, Judie Mopsik said at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

She presented an analysis of longitudinal medical claims data for 4.5 million women aged 18 years or older covered by a national health insurance company with 20 million enrollees.

These were women with full access to preventive care. During the study period, 2006-2008, 1.9 million of the 4.5 million women had a mammogram.

The mammographic screening rate during this 2-year window was 9% among 18- to 39-year-olds.

The rate was 53% among women aged 40-49 years, a group for whom routine screening isn't recommended in the latest USPSTF guidelines.

At the time of the study, however, the USPSTF's previous guidelines were in effect, and those guidelines recommended mammography every 1-2 years starting at age 40, noted Ms. Mopsik, who is president of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics and vice president for business development at the Lewin Group in Falls Church, Va.

The screening rate within the 2-year study window was 59% among women in their 50s, for whom mammography is routinely recommended at least once every 2 years.

And the screening rate was 49% in women aged 60 years or older.

Among women who had two or more mammograms during the 2-year study period, the majority – 56%-84% depending upon the age group – had their most recent mammogram within 11-18 months of their prior mammogram.

This is the population of assiduous adherents to preventive medicine likely to find particularly troubling the USPSTF's reversal of its longtime guidelines calling for screening every 1-2 years, particularly since the American Cancer Society still recommends annual mammography starting at age 40 years.

The study was supported by the National Center for Health Statistics. Ms. Mopsik declared having no relevant financial interests.

DENVER – Even before the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued its controversial 2009 recommendation, only a slim majority of women with health insurance were getting even one mammogram every 2 years.

Thus, the utilization rate for mammography – be it standard, digital, or MRI – remains well below recommendations, Judie Mopsik said at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

She presented an analysis of longitudinal medical claims data for 4.5 million women aged 18 years or older covered by a national health insurance company with 20 million enrollees.

These were women with full access to preventive care. During the study period, 2006-2008, 1.9 million of the 4.5 million women had a mammogram.

The mammographic screening rate during this 2-year window was 9% among 18- to 39-year-olds.

The rate was 53% among women aged 40-49 years, a group for whom routine screening isn't recommended in the latest USPSTF guidelines.

At the time of the study, however, the USPSTF's previous guidelines were in effect, and those guidelines recommended mammography every 1-2 years starting at age 40, noted Ms. Mopsik, who is president of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics and vice president for business development at the Lewin Group in Falls Church, Va.

The screening rate within the 2-year study window was 59% among women in their 50s, for whom mammography is routinely recommended at least once every 2 years.

And the screening rate was 49% in women aged 60 years or older.

Among women who had two or more mammograms during the 2-year study period, the majority – 56%-84% depending upon the age group – had their most recent mammogram within 11-18 months of their prior mammogram.

This is the population of assiduous adherents to preventive medicine likely to find particularly troubling the USPSTF's reversal of its longtime guidelines calling for screening every 1-2 years, particularly since the American Cancer Society still recommends annual mammography starting at age 40 years.

The study was supported by the National Center for Health Statistics. Ms. Mopsik declared having no relevant financial interests.