Table 3.
Mammography examinations by comorbidity status among female Medicare beneficiaries in the linked BCSC-Medicare data from 2000–2006 (N= 149,045)
| Mammography Use a | 1 year 4–18 months | 2 years 19–30 months | 3 years 31–42 months | > 42 months or first screening mammogram d | > 42 months or first diagnostic mammogram e | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | (%) | n | (%) | n | (%) | n | (%) | n | (%) | |
| All | ||||||||||
| Stable b comorbidities | 60718 | (70) | 13848 | (16) | 4886 | (5.6) | 6481 | (7.5) | 858 | (1) |
| Unstable c comorbidities | 22567 | (62.4) | 6472 | (17.9) | 2674 | (7.4) | 3837 | (10.6) | 643 | (1.8) |
| No comorbidities | 9251 | (64.1) | 2426 | (16.8) | 969 | (6.7) | 1575 | (10.9) | 209 | (1.4) |
| Age < 75 | ||||||||||
| Stable b comorbidities | 35874 | (72.8) | 7477 | (15.2) | 2482 | (5.0) | 3104 | (6.3) | 330 | (0.7) |
| Unstable c comorbidities | 11670 | (65.5) | 3111 | (17.2) | 1235 | (6.9) | 1594 | (8.9) | 220 | (1.2) |
| No comorbidities | 6638 | (66.1) | 1642 | (16.4) | 635 | (6.3) | 1002 | (10.0) | 118 | (1.2) |
| Age ≥ 75 | ||||||||||
| Stable b comorbidities | 24844 | (66.2) | 6371 | (17.0) | 2404 | (6.4) | 3377 | (9.0) | 528 | (1) |
| Unstable c comorbidities | 10897 | (59.3) | 3361 | (18.3) | 1439 | (7.8) | 2243 | (12.2) | 423 | (2) |
| No comorbidities | 2613 | (59.5) | 784 | (17.8) | 334 | (7.6) | 573 | (13.0) | 91 | (2) |
Mammography use was categorized according to type of examination and time between mammography examination.
Stable comorbidities are defined as age-related conditions with no influence on predicted 5 year mortality.
Examples include arthritis, osteoporosis, depression, diabetes, thyroid disorders, stable coronary artery disease, and peptic ulcer disease (Appendix 1).
Unstable comorbidities are defined as life threatening or difficult to control with less than 5 year predicted mortality. Examples include severe heart failure, end-stage pulmonary disease, end-stage liver disease, renal disease, and diabetes with complications (Appendix 1).
>42 months or first screen is defined as a screening mammogram with no prior mammogram within 42 months.
>42 months or first diagnostic is defined as a diagnostic mammogram with no prior within 42 months.