Depressive symptoms called barrier to breast, cervical Ca screening: women aged 42-52.(Gynecology)

VANCOUVER, B.C. -- A high burden of depressive symptoms is an independent predictor of reduced odds of undergoing appropriate screening for breast and cervical cancer, Dr. Paul A. Pirraglia said at the annual meeting of the Society of General Internal Medicine.

"While depression is a condition that should be identified and treated in its own right, the implication of the work I've presented here is that, in addition, depression may be a modifiable factor in improving rates of cancer screening in women," said Dr. Pirraglia of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

He reported on 3,297 participants in the National Institutes of Health-sponsored Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). SWAN, a multicenter longitudinal study of the transition to menopause, focuses on cardiovascular, psychosocial, and bone changes.

Participants are women aged 42-52 years at baseline with a uterus, at least one ovary, and a history of one or more menses within 3 months prior to study entry.

Depression was assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D), a widely used 20-question research tool that rates symptoms on a 0-60 scale.

Overall, 7% of SWAN subjects had no depressive symptoms (CES-D score of 0); 69% had a low burden of depressive symptoms (score of 1-15); 9% had moderate depression (score of 16-20); 15% had a high burden of depressive symptoms (score of 21 or higher). Scores of 16 or more are commonly considered to represent clinically significant ...