Screening mammography: factors associated with adherence to recommended age/frequency guidelines.

Examines associations of selected demographic, insurance, health care, health history, and health practice variables with frequency of screening mammograms received during the past 5 years. Telephone interviews were conducted with 350 women aged 40 through 69, never diagnosed with breast cancer, and identified through random digit dialing in Connecticut. Of 10 variables showing bivariate associations with receiving mammograms as frequently as recommended by National Cancer Institute guidelines, younger age, having a first-degree relative with breast cancer, and having annual clinical breast examinations were statistically significant independent predictors in logistic regression analyses of regular utilization of mammography during the past 5 years. In additional logistic analyses, having regular clinical breast exams maintained a strong effect on the odds both of having any mammograms and, among respondents reporting any mammograms, of having the recommended number during the past 5 years. Frequency of breast self-examination was unrelated to frequency of mammograms.