Risk perception, family history, and use of breast cancer screening tests

A family history of breast cancer is an established risk factor for the disease, but there are few published studies on the use of breast cancer screening tests among family-history-positive women. Among 1015 respondents to telephone surveys of random samples of women 50 to 75 years old residing on Long Island (New York), the frequency of ever having had a mammogram or having a mammogram during the past year was significantly higher in respondents with a self-reported family history of breast cancer than in other women 50 to 64 (but not 65 to 75) years old. The association between family history and mammography during the past year held only among 50 to 64-year-old women with a lower perceived risk of breast cancer. Among women 50 to 64 years old, strong agreement with the ability of mammography to detect nonpalpable lumps was positively associated with mammography during the past year, especially among women with lower perceived risk of breast cancer. Implications are discussed with regard to breast cancer screening programs.