Age-specific hysterectomy and oophorectomy prevalence rates and the risks for cancer of the reproductive system.

A sample survey was conducted in 1982 to determine the prevalence of hysterectomy and oophorectomy among upstate New York women, ages 25-74. The effects of this surgery on age-specific estimates of the risk for cancer of the uterus, cervix, and ovary were calculated. Overall, 16.9 per cent of the women reported having had a hysterectomy and 9.9 per cent reported a bilateral oophorectomy. The adjustment for age-specific hysterectomy increased the 1977-1979 average annual incidence rate of cervical and uterine cancer by 21 per cent. In several five-year age categories, the increase reached 54 per cent. The 1977-1979 average annual incidence rate of ovarian cancer increased by 12 per cent after adjusting for age-specific bilateral oophorectomy. The increase reached 29 per cent in one five-year age group. The sample results show a lower prevalence of hysterectomy among women 25 to 40 years old and among women 70 to 74 than estimates based on the application of mathematical models to data on surgical incidence.