title: Subgroup-specific effects of questionnaire wording on population-based estimates of mammography prevalence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated whether an apparent downturn in prevalence rates of mammography use reported in the 1992 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) questionnaire resulted from a change in questionnaire wording.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a pretest-posttest design (1990-1991 vs 1992), piecewise linear regression analyses were based on monthly prevalence estimates of mammography use among female BRFSS respondents 40 years or older.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Self-reported mammography use was lower by 3.5 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.5, 5.5) overall--and lower by 13.6 percentage points (95% CI = 2.6, 24.6) among Black women with less than a high school education--when predicted from 1992 data than when predicted from 1990-1991 data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A change in questionnaire wording in the BRFSS caused demographic-specific effects in population-based estimates of mammography use.
authors.affiliation: Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga., USA. pzsl@cdc.gov
authors.forename: P Z
authors.initials: PZ
authors.lastname: Siegel
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Qualters
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Mowery
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Campostrini
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leutzinger
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: McQueen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States