The Association between Binge Drinking and Mammography and Pap Test Screening by Women's Race and Ethnicity

In 2022, 12.5% of women ages 18+ in the United States reported past-month binge drinking. Some studies indicate that excessive drinking is associated with lower rates of mammogram screening, but information by racial/ethnic group is lacking. We explored the relationship between binge drinking and mammogram and Pap test use among Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White women.

We used 7 years of National Health Interview Survey data reported between 2003 and 2018. Samples included women ages 21-64 without a hysterectomy who reported Pap test data (N = 52,621) and women ages 40-64 with or without a hysterectomy who reported mammogram data (N = 40,635). Using relative risk regression analysis, we tested the relationship between binge drinking, defined as having had four or more drinks on one or more days during the past year, and mammogram and Pap test screenings for the total samples and the four racial/ethnic groups.

White women reported the highest rates of binge drinking, followed by Hispanic, Black, and Asian American women. Contrary to our expectations, binge drinking was associated with a slightly higher relative risk of mammogram utilization among White women (RR = 1.02, 95% CI = 1.02-1.02). Among Black women, binge drinking was associated with a lower relative risk (RR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.97-0.98). For Pap test utilization, binge drinking was associated with a slightly lower relative risk among Black women (RR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.99-0.99), and Hispanic women (RR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.99-0.99), and a slightly higher relative risk among Asian women (RR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.03-1.08) and White women (RR = 1.00, 95% CI = 1.00-1.00).

Binge drinking bears little relationship to mammogram or Pap test use. Results suggest that reducing socioeconomic disparities will increase cancer screening.