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BACKGROUND: Depression has been associated with lower cancer screening rates in some studies. We examined whether a higher depressive symptom burden presented a barrier to subsequent mammography and Papanicolaou (Pap) smear testing. METHODS: Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) is a cohort study of 3302 community-dwelling women. At baseline, participants were 42-52 years old, had no surgical removal of the uterus or both ovaries, no current use of hormones that affect the ovaries, and at least one menses in the previous 3 months. SWAN data spanned 4 years. Repeated measures logistic models determined odds of mammography and of Pap screening in the year following depressive symptom burden, as determined by Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression score (CES-D). The models controlled for age, race/ethnicity, health insurance, medical history and use, smoking, obesity, and socioeconomic status. RESULTS: At baseline, 75.6% (2493 of 3297) had a low depressive symptom burden (CES-D score or = 21). Women with a high depressive symptom burden had, in the subsequent year, significantly lower odds of mammography (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.73-0.97) but not Pap smear (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.76-1.03). There was not a significant dose-response relationship between depressive symptom burden and screening. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of a high depressive symptom burden is a modest independent risk factor for lack of subsequent mammography. Ensuring that depressed patients receive regular cancer screening services is important.
Pirraglia et al. (Thu,) studied this question.