OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence and associated factors of doing clinical breast examinations (CBE) and mammogram (MMG) in the Southern and Northeast Brazilian regions, focusing on some social inequalities. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study using data from the 2008 National Household Sampling Survey (PNAD). We evaluated the prevalence of CBE during the last year and of the MMG in the last two years, which were analyzed based on demographic (age, skin color, and marital status) and socioeconomic (income and schooling) variables. Gross and adjusted prevalence ratios were obtained using Poisson regression models. All analyses were stratified by region. RESULTS: The sample comprised 27,718 women aged 40 to 69 years. Less than a half of the women followed the recommendation of annual CBE performance in both the regions. The MMG prevalence during the last two years was 58.6 and 45.5% for the Southern and Northeast regions, respectively. More than a quarter of the women had never had a MMG (26.5% in the Southern and 40.6% in the Northeast regions). Not having performed both examinations was almost two times higher in the Northeast region (29.7%) when compared with the Southern (15.9%). The risk for not having performed both examinations was greater among nonwhite women, aged 60 to 69 years, with lower schooling level and family income. CONCLUSION: Important inequalities were seen between the Southern and Northeast regions for CBE and MMG. Health public policies should prioritize the most vulnerable groups to reduce these inequalities.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence and associated factors of doing clinical breast examinations (CBE) and mammogram (MMG) in the Southern and Northeast Brazilian regions, focusing on some social inequalities. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study using data from the 2008 National Household Sampling Survey (PNAD). We evaluated the prevalence of CBE during the last year and of the MMG in the last two years, which were analyzed based on demographic (age, skin color, and marital status) and socioeconomic (income and schooling) variables. Gross and adjusted prevalence ratios were obtained using Poisson regression models. All analyses were stratified by region. RESULTS: The sample comprised 27,718 women aged 40 to 69 years. Less than a half of the women followed the recommendation of annual CBE performance in both the regions. The MMG prevalence during the last two years was 58.6 and 45.5% for the Southern and Northeast regions, respectively. More than a quarter of the women had never had a MMG (26.5% in the Southern and 40.6% in the Northeast regions). Not having performed both examinations was almost two times higher in the Northeast region (29.7%) when compared with the Southern (15.9%). The risk for not having performed both examinations was greater among nonwhite women, aged 60 to 69 years, with lower schooling level and family income. CONCLUSION: Important inequalities were seen between the Southern and Northeast regions for CBE and MMG. Health public policies should prioritize the most vulnerable groups to reduce these inequalities.
Authors: Gerson Nunes da Cunha; Cid Manso de Mello Vianna; Gabriela Bittencourt Gonzalez Mosegui; Marcus Paulo Rodrigues da Silva; Fernando Nagib Jardim Journal: Rev Panam Salud Publica Date: 2019-02-06