Comparison of breast cancer screening rates between Korean women in America versus Korea.
BACKGROUND
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Korean American women and among Korean women in Korea. However, many Asian women are not aware of the importance of screening mammography. This study compares breast cancer screening in Korean women in California and in Korea.


METHODS
The 2005 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) and 2005 Korean National Cancer Screening Survey (KNCSS) were used to examine breast cancer screening and related factors. The sample included 252 Korean American women in California and 889 Korean women aged > or = 40 years. Logistic regression was used to predict the odds of having had a screening mammography in the past 2 years. For CHIS data, SUDAAN software (Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC) was used to take into account the design of the complex and multistage samples.


RESULTS
Korean women reported a lower rate than Korean American women of ever having had a screening mammography (50.8% vs. 77.8%). Korean women also had lower rates of having had a screening mammography in the past 2 years than Korean American women (39.5% vs. 57.2%). Korean Americans were less likely to undergo screening mammography if they were older. Korean women were less likely to undergo screening mammography if they were older, unemployed, lacked private cancer insurance, lacked health checkups, did not exercise, had poor health status, or currently smoked.


CONCLUSIONS
We found significant differences in cancer screening behavior in Korean women depending on where they lived. These differences may indicate an important influence of social factors on preventive health behavior.
Choi
Kui Son
KS
National Cancer Control Institute, National Cancer Center, Gyeonggi-do, Korea.
Lee
Sunmin
S
Park
Eun-Cheol
EC
Kwak
Min-Son
MS
Spring
Bonnie J
BJ
Juon
Hee-Soon
HS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000208:ethnology*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000208:ethnology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D016387:Women's Health