Calif. Asian women lag in mammography use

California's Asian women have lower-than-average rates of mammography, according to a new report published by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Center for Health Policy Research.

From data based on the 2011-2012 California Health Interview Survey, researchers found that 72% of Asian women reported a recent mammogram in the past two years, compared with 83% of African-American, 81% of white, and 77% of Latina women.

The report states that about 79% of women age 40 or older in California had a mammogram in the past few years. Rates for recent mammography were higher among non-Hispanic white and African-American women compared to the state overall.

Among Asian women, only half of Korean women (52%) reported undergoing a mammogram in the past two years, a rate significantly lower than for all other Asian subgroups (72%) and all women in California. This finding is consistent with previous years, according to the Center for Health Policy Research, with about 58% of Korean women reporting a recent mammogram in 2009. Japanese women (84%) have significantly higher rates of mammography compared to all other Asian subgroups (72%), the report notes.

These findings suggest a need for interventions and incentives to support routine mammography for Korean women, the researchers said. Additional study is needed to determine the reasons for lower mammography rates among Koreans, which may include a lack of health insurance coverage.

"With the expansion of healthcare coverage and preventive health services under the Affordable Care Act, there are opportunities to ensure that women age 40 to 49 and all racial and ethnic groups, including Korean women, have timely access to routine breast cancer screening," the report concluded.