title: Celebrities and screening: a measurable impact on high-grade cervical neoplasia diagnosis from the 'Jade Goody effect' in the UK.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The celebrity Jade Goody's cervical cancer diagnosis was associated with increased UK cervical screening attendance. We wanted to establish if there was an increase in high-grade (HG) cervical neoplasia diagnoses, and if so, what the characteristics of the women with HG disease were.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analysed prospective data on 3233 consecutive colposcopy referrals in North East London, UK, from 01 April 2005 to 30 June 2010. Characteristics and outcomes of pre- and post-Goody cohorts were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Goody's diagnosis was associated with an increased incidence of colposcopy referrals in all subsequent annual quarters (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.3-1.9, P<0.002-P<0.0005) and increased HG disease diagnoses in the fourth quarter 2008/2009 (IRR 1.3, P=0.05) and first quarter 2009/2010 (IRR 1.3, P=0.07). We observed 1.90-fold (CI: 1.06-3.39), 2.06 (CI: 1.13-3.76) and 2.13-fold (CI: 1.07-4.25) respective increases in the odds of HG disease women being screening-naive in the first and second quarter 2009/2010, and the first quarter 2010/2011 (P<0.04, P<0.02 and P<0.04, respectively). There was a 2.23-fold increase in the odds of screening-naive HG disease women being symptomatic post-Goody's diagnosis (P=0.023). The age distributions of the pre- and post-Goody cohorts did not differ in any study group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Continued publicity about celebrities' diagnoses might encourage screening in at-risk populations.
authors: Undergraduate Medicine, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK.
authors: G M
authors: GM
authors: Casey
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Morris
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Burnell
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Parberry
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Singh
authors: A N
authors: AN
authors: Rosenthal
mesh_terms: D003127:Colposcopy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005197:Famous Persons; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008402:Mass Media; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006113:United Kingdom; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control*
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