Contact: David B. Reuben, MD
(310) 825-8253
dreuben@mednet.ucla.edu

Study Links Mammography Use to Other Preventive Behaviors

Older women who engage in preventive practices such as having Pap smears, monthly breast self-examination, and calcium supplementation are more likely to have regular mammograms, suggest the results of a recent study.

"These findings suggest that women who habitually engage in one preventive health behavior are likely to engage in others as well," said lead author David B. Reuben, MD, of the UCLA School of Medicine.

Women who merely receive interventions that their doctors initiate, such as flu or pneumonia shots, and do not actively involve themselves in preventive measures are less likely to have ever had a mammogram, the researchers conclude. However, preventive services that are patient-initiated, such as conducting monthly breast self-examinations and using calcium supplements, are associated with being current on mammography use.

Previous research has indicated that factors contributing to poor adherence to mammography include older age, lower income and educational levels, ethnic minority status, lack of knowledge, poor social support, inadequate health insurance coverage, lack of access to health care, impaired health and functional status, and lack of physician recommendation.

"Health education efforts that emphasize the importance of health promotion as a continuous lifelong behavior may be particularly valuable in improving mammography use among older women," suggests Reuben.

Reuben and colleagues from the Multicampus Program in Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at the UCLA School of Medicine used data from self-reported surveys of 610 women between the ages of 60 and 84. Data included sociodemographic features, health and functional status, and preventive practice characteristics of the subjects.

The study findings are published in the July/August issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion.

This study was supported by the City of Los Angeles Area Agency on Aging.

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The American Journal of Health Promotion is a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the field of health promotion. For information about the journal call (248) 682-0707 or visit the journal's Web site at www.healthpromotionjournal.com.

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