Mammography

The content on this page was last updated in June 2023. More recent estimates and visualizations may be available from the NCHS Data Query System.

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Cancer screening tests aim to detect cancers at early stages, when cancer may be easier to treat successfully (1). Although breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States, advancements in and increased use of cancer screening tests have contributed to decreasing breast cancer death rates since 1989 (2–4). The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends breast cancer screening every 2 years in women aged 50–74 (5–7).

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Key Findings

Trend: 2008–2018, 2019

Sparkline: This is a line graph showing the percentage of women aged 40 and over who self-reported mammogram use for 2008 through 2018 (line) and at 2019 (point).

The age-adjusted percentage of women aged 40 and over who reported having a mammogram within the past 2 years was stable from 67.1% in 2008 to 65.6% in 2018. In 2019, 67.5% of women aged 40 and over had a mammogram within the past 2 years. See Featured Charts for additional analysis and Notes for more information about analyzing trends using NHIS data.

SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey. See Sources and Definitions, National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and Health, United States, 2020–2021 Table CanBrTest.

Estimates are based on the civilian noninstitutionalized population. See Sources and Definitions, Population.
For information on the methods used to assess trends, see Sources and Definitions, Statistical testing.
Age-adjusted estimates are presented to eliminate differences that result from changes in the distribution of age in the population over time. Some estimates are shown by a specific age group because of the strong effect of age on most health outcomes. See Sources and Definitions, Age adjustment.
Questions concerning use of mammography were asked on an intermittent schedule.
In 2019, the NHIS questionnaire was redesigned, and other changes were made to weighting and design methodology. Data for 2019 have not been fully evaluated for comparability with earlier years; therefore, trends through 2019 are not shown. For more information on the 2019 NHIS redesign and evaluation of the redesign on selected indicators, see: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/2019_quest_redesign.htm.

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From 2008 to 2019, use of mammography differed by age.

Figure 1 is a line graph showing the percentage of women aged 40 and over who self-reported mammogram use within the past 2 years, by age group for 2008 through 2018 (line) and at 2019 (point).

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NOTES: “Stable” refers to no statistically significant trend during the period. APC is annual percent change.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey. See Sources and Definitions, National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and Health, United States, 2020–2021 Table CanBrTest.

From 2008 to 2018, the percentage of women who reported having a mammogram within the past 2 years decreased for women aged 75 and over but remained stable during the period for other age groups of women aged 40 and over.
In 2019, women aged 50–64 (75.7%) and 65–74 (78.1%) were more likely to report having a mammogram within the past 2 years than women aged 40–49 (60.2%) or 75 and over (54.2%).

Estimates are based on the civilian noninstitutionalized population. See Sources and Definitions, Population.
For information on the methods used to assess trends, see Sources and Definitions, Statistical testing.
Questions concerning use of mammography were asked on an intermittent schedule.
In 2019, the NHIS questionnaire was redesigned, and other changes were made to weighting and design methodology. Data for 2019 have not been fully evaluated for comparability with earlier years; therefore, trends through 2019 are not shown. For more information on the 2019 NHIS redesign and evaluation of the redesign on selected indicators, see: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/2019_quest_redesign.htm.

In 2019, non-Hispanic Asian women were less likely to have a mammogram in the past 2 years than non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White women.

Figure 2 is line graph showing the percentage of women aged 40 and over who self-reported mammogram use within the past 2 years, by race and Hispanic origin for 2008 through 2018 (line) and at 2019 (point).

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NOTES: NH is not Hispanic. “Stable” refers to no statistically significant trend during the period.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey. See Sources and Definitions, National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and Health, United States, 2020–2021 Table CanBrTest.

For all race and Hispanic-origin groups, the percentage of women aged 40 and over who reported having a mammogram within the past 2 years fluctuated but did not change significantly from 2008 to 2018.
In 2019, among women aged 40 and over, non-Hispanic Asian women (64.0%) were less likely to report having a mammogram within the past 2 years than non-Hispanic White (69.4%) and non-Hispanic Black (70.8%) women but were not statistically different from Hispanic women (69.4%).

Estimates are based on the civilian noninstitutionalized population. See Sources and Definitions, Population.
For information on the methods used to assess trends, see Sources and Definitions, Statistical testing.
Questions concerning use of mammography were asked on an intermittent schedule.
Estimates are presented according to the 1997 Office of Management and Budget’s “Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity” and are for people who reported only one racial group. See Sources and Definitions, Race.
Data on race and Hispanic origin are presented in the greatest detail possible considering the quality of the data, the amount of missing data, and the number of observations. This affects the availability of reportable data for populations such as the Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander and the American Indian or Alaska Native populations. Statements about findings refer to the data presented in the figure.
In 2019, the NHIS questionnaire was redesigned, and other changes were made to weighting and design methodology. Data for 2019 have not been fully evaluated for comparability with earlier years; therefore, trends through 2019 are not shown. For more information on the 2019 NHIS redesign and evaluation of the redesign on selected indicators, see: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/2019_quest_redesign.htm.

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Use of mammography among women aged 40 and over, by selected characteristics: United States, selected years 1987–2019

SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey.

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Definitions

Hispanic origin: People of Hispanic origin may be of any race. See Sources and Definitions, Hispanic origin.
Mammography: Use of mammography is defined as the percentage of women aged 40 and over who had a mammogram within the past 2 years. Survey questions have changed over time. See Sources and Definitions, Mammography.
Race: Estimates are presented according to the 1997 Office of Management and Budget’s “Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity” and are for people who reported only one racial group. See Sources and Definitions, Race.

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References

Pinsky PF. Principles of cancer screening. Surg Clin North Am 95(5):953–66. 2015.
Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2018. CA Cancer J Clin 68(1):7–30. 2018.
Nelson HD, Fu R, Cantor A, Pappas M, Daeges M, Humphrey L. Effectiveness of breast cancer screening: Systematic review and meta-analysis to update the 2009 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation. Ann Intern Med 164(4):244–55. 2016.
American Cancer Society. Breast cancer facts & figures 2019–2020. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society, Inc. 2019.
Siu AL, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for breast cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med 164(4):279–96. 2016.
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for breast cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med 151(10):716–26. 2009.
Force USPST. Screening for breast cancer: Recommendations and rationale. Ann Intern Med 137(5 Part 1):344–6. 2002.

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