Many say 'too busy' to get a mammogram

PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- The major reason women age 60 and under who have health insurance gave for not getting a mammogram was "being too busy," U.S. researchers say.

Researchers at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., report about one-quarter say the reason for not completing mammograms was "too much pain." Obese women were nearly twice as likely as non-obese women to report pain as a deterrent.

"Nearly half of the women in our study were obese and obese women are more likely to get breast cancer, so we need to find better ways to ensure that these women are screened," lead author Dr. Adrianne Feldstein say in a statement.

The study, published online in the Journal of Women's Health, associated low mammogram completion with being younger than age 60, having a household income of less than $40,000, being obese and having had health insurance less than five years.

"These are important findings because, even though we know that mammograms can save lives, many women put them off," Feldstein says.

Feldstein and colleagues studied women ages 50-69 in Oregon and Washington who had not had a mammogram for more than 20 months.