Mammography use among older women of seven Latin American and Caribbean Cities

Background. To describe the prevalence of mammography use, and to estimate its association with sociodemographics. Methods. A sample of 6207 women aged 60 and older from the first interview of Health, Well-Being and Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean Study (SABE) in seven cities (Buenos Aires, Bridgetown, Havana, Mexico, Montevideo, Santiago, and Sao Paulo). The outcome was reporting a mammogram within the last 2 years. Results. Prevalence of mammography use ranged from 9.8% in Havana to 34.4% in Sao Paulo. Independent predictors of mammography use across cities were older age (lowest odds ratio [OR] = 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.89–0.95), higher education (highest OR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.08–1.20), public health insurance (lowest OR = 0.28, 95% CI 0.11–0.76), or no insurance (lowest OR = 0.08, 95% CI 0.02–0.34) compared with private insurance. In a combined sample of six cities, higher education was associated with higher mammography use, but older age and insurance (public: OR = 0.54, 95% CI 0.45–0.65; no insurance: OR = 0.30, 95% CI 0.23–0.40; compared with private insurance) were associated with lower mammography use. Conclusions. Prevalence of mammography use across cities was lower than that reported for Hispanic populations in the US. In the overall sample, mammography use was increased in highly educated people and decreased in people without insurance.