Factors Associated with Screening Mammography Utilization among Women Veterans in VA Primary Care.

Cohort studyJournal of women's health (2002)· Aug 2026

Factors Associated with Screening Mammography Utilization among Women Veterans in VA Primary Care.

Elizabeth Hulen, Sara A Vlajic, Sarah Shull … Samuel T Edwards

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Breast ImagingCohort studyQ2IF 1.9

Recent women's health visit linked to higher odds of mammography screening completion

Factors Associated with Screening Mammography Utilization among Women Veterans in VA Primary Care.

Elizabeth Hulen … Samuel T Edwards

Journal of women's health (2002) · Aug 2026 · Q2 in General Medicine

Background

Screening mammography contributes to reduced breast cancer mortality and is an essential preventive service.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using Veterans Affairs administrative data, including 374,132 women veterans aged 42-74 who were eligible for breast cancer screening and using Veterans Affairs primary care.

n = 374,132 women

Results

recent women's health visit raises odds of completing mammography screening

OR by subgroup · 95% CI

More results

The screening mammography completion rate was 70%.

Lower completion was associated with substance-related disorder (OR = 0.67; 95% CI: 0.64, 0.69), alcohol-related disorder (OR = 0.87; 95% CI: 0.84, 0.90), and Pacific region residence (OR = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.78).

More results

Women aged 54-62 had the highest screening odds; those aged 42-53 had the lowest across predictors.

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Conclusion

Efforts to optimize screening should target regional barriers, developing interventions for specific groups, and increasing the availability of specialized women's health training for Veterans Affairs.