Abstract
Breast density (BD) reduces sensitivity of mammography, and is a strong risk factor for breast cancer (BC). Data about women’s awareness and knowledge of BD are limited. Our aim is to examine whether the BD information disclosure and BD awareness among women without BC are related to their knowledge about BC risk factors. We examined self-reported BC risk perception and its association to BD awareness and level of health literacy. A cross-sectional, single site study included 263 Croatian women without BC who had mammographic examination. Data were collected by interviews using questionnaires and a validated survey. Of the total, 77.1% had never heard of BD, and 22.9% were aware of their BD. Most participants who knew their BD (88.2%, p < 0.001) had higher levels of education. Majority of subjects (66.8%) had non-dense breasts and 33.2% had dense breasts. Subjects aware of their BD knew that post-menopausal hormone replacement therapy (p = 0.04) and higher BD (p = 0.03) are BC risk factors. They could more easily access information about health promotion (p = 0.03). High-BD informed women assessed their lifetime BC risk as significantly higher than all others (p = 0.03). Comprehension of BD awareness and knowledge is crucial for reinforcement of educational strategies and development of amendatory BC screening decisions.
Highlights
Breast cancer (BC), as the most prevalent cancer in women and the second leading cause of female cancer deaths, persists in being accounted for a major health and socioeconomic burden
The aim of this study was to examine whether the Breast density (BD) information disclosure and BD awareness among Croatian women without BC are related to their knowledge about BC risk factors
The results of the current study show that many women in Croatia are not familiar with the term BD
Summary
Breast cancer (BC), as the most prevalent cancer in women and the second leading cause of female cancer deaths, persists in being accounted for a major health and socioeconomic burden. The latest release of the Global Cancer Observatory by the International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates that BC incidence and mortality rate will continue to rise over the 20 years, with over 3 million patients and 992,000 deaths from BC in 2040 [1]. The most effective strategy for reducing BC mortality is early detection through mammographic screening [3]. Breast density (BD) denotes the mammographic appearance of the breast, with different proportions of fibroglandular and fatty tissue as the basic components of breast tissue [4]. There are several tools to assess BD, the most commonly used in clinical practice is the qualitative one from the American College of Radiology (ACR) Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) [5]
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