Cervical screening and general physical examination behaviors of women exposed in utero to diethylstilbestrol.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate whether women exposed in utero to diethylstilbestrol (DES) report receiving more cervical and general physical examinations compared to unexposed women.


METHODS
1994 Diethylstilbestrol Adenosis cohort data are used to assess the degree of recommended compliance of cervical screenings found in 3,140 DES-exposed and 826 unexposed women. Participants were enrolled at 4 sites: Houston, Boston, Rochester, and Los Angeles. Logistic regression modeling was used to analyze mailed questionnaire data, which included reported frequency over the preceding 5 years (1990-1994) of Papanicolaou smears and general physical examinations.


RESULTS
Diethylstilbestrol-exposed women exceeded the recommended frequency of Papanicolaou smear screenings [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.15, 95% CI (confidence interval) = 1.60-2.88] compared to the unexposed. This association held among those without a history of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (aOR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.35-2.62). Diethylstilbestrol-exposed women exceeded annual recommendations for physical examinations (aOR = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.16-4.43) among women without a history of chronic disease when compared to unexposed women.


CONCLUSIONS
Most DES-exposed women are receiving cervical cancer screening at least at recommended intervals, but one third of the women are not receiving annual Papanicolaou smear examinations.
Camp
Elizabeth A
EA
School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Coker
Ann L
AL
Troisi
Rebecca
R
Robboy
Stanley J
SJ
Noller
Kenneth L
KL
Goodman
Karen J
KJ
Titus-Ernstoff
Linda T
LT
Hatch
Elizabeth E
EE
Herbst
Arthur L
AL
Kaufman
Raymond H
RH
Adam
Ervin
E
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D000282:Administration, Intravaginal; D000328:Adult; D001519:Behavior; D004054:Diethylstilbestrol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004968:Estrogens, Non-Steroidal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014625:Vaginal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*
D004968:Estrogens, Non-Steroidal; D004054:Diethylstilbestrol