Mammography for older women: who uses, who benefits?

In order to juxtapose the health, social, and behavioral factors associated with use of screening mammography with short-term mortality among elderly women, we analyzed the NHIS Cancer Epidemiology Supplemental Survey and the Longitudinal Study of Aging. After controlling for sociodemographic factors, having a usual source of care of and knowledge of screening guidelines, we found that a woman's health status is unrelated to having had a screening mammogram. Analyses of the LSOA, however, revealed that health factors were strongly related to 4-year mortality, particularly among women 75 and over. As it is unlikely that the subpopulation of older women who are at high risk of death within 4 years will benefit from a program of universal screening, outreach program messages and physician education programs should probably be designed to proactively recruit those most likely to benefit.