Table 4.
Perceptions of Screening Mammography Benefit by Race and Age
| Patient Age and Race | Mammograms Decrease Risk of Dying of Breast Cancer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| More Pessimistic | Less Pessimistic | ||||
| Not at all | 5% to 25% | 26% to 50% | 51% to 75% | 76% to 100% | |
| Age 40 to 49 | |||||
| Black (n=26) | 3 (12)* | 5 (19)* | 3 (12) | 5 (19) | 10 (38) |
| White (n=34) | 0* | 2 (6)* | 0 | 13 (38) | 19 (56) |
| All women, age 40 to 49 | 3 (5)* | 7 (12)* | 3 (5) | 18 (30) | 29 (48) |
| Age 50 to 69 | |||||
| Black (n=38) | 2 (5) | 7 (18)* | 10 (26)* | 7 (18) | 12 (32) |
| White (n=109) | 0 | 6 (6)* | 14 (13)* | 37 (34) | 52 (48) |
| All women, age 50 to 69 | 2 (1) | 13 (9)* | 24 (16)* | 44 (30) | 64 (44) |
*
Accurate response to question regarding screening mammography benefit: “For women your age, how much do you think regular mammograms decrease the risk of dying from breast cancer?” The accurate perception of screening mammography benefit was considered to be a relative risk reduction of 26% (95% CI: 17% to 34%) among women age 50 to 69 y, and of 7% (95% CI: −13% to 24%) among women ages 40 to 49 y. Responses within the 95% confidence intervals described here were considered to be accurate.