Factors Associated with Mammography Adherence among Married Chinese Women in Yanbian, China

Background: Despite the efficacy of regular mammograms, the incidence and mortality rate of breast cancerhave been increasing in China. Insufficient studies on the factors affecting mammography adherence in Chinesemarried women have been conducted. The purpose of the present study was to explore the factors associated withadherence to guidelines for regular mammography among Chinese married women. Materials and
Methods: Theparticipants were recruited conveniently and included Chinese and Korean Chinese women who were married,living at Yanbian City in China. Demographic information, status regarding eight risk factors of breast cancer,health responsibility, and perceived benefits/barriers of mammography were obtained. Descriptive analyses,t-test, and multivariate analysis were performed. Hierarchical logistic regression was conducted to explore thefactors associated with regular mammography adherence in Chinese and Korean Chinese subgroups.
Results:About 24% of the sample population was adherent in going for regular mammography. The adherent groupwas significantly more educated, had more children, and had a lower proportion experiencing early menarcheand a greater menopausal proportion than the non-adherent group. The final model using logistic regressionanalysis showed that being Chinese [OR=2.199 (1.224-3.951)], having no or one child [OR=4.879 (1.835-12.976)],early menarche [OR=3.515 (1.057-11.694)], being menopausal [OR=3.120 (0.965-10.088)], aged 40-49 [OR=2.374(1.099-5.124)], having low education [OR=0.400 (0.211-0.765)], and perceiving greater benefits in doingmammography [OR=1.080 (1.014-1.151)] were significantly associated with mammography adherence, aftercontrolling for covariates.
Conclusions: Sociocultural sensitive intervention for minorities should be emphasizedwhen improving the adherence of regular mammography. Intervention tailored for women with lower educationshould be delivered and the benefits of mammography should be propagated to women in rural areas of China.