Obese women less likely to be screened for cervical cancer: study
Reported June 18, 2008
Obese women are significantly less likely to be tested for cervical cancer than women of average body weight, a new study has found.
Breast and colon cancer screening are unaffected by a woman’s body mass, researchers found.
The study analyzed the responses of 38,000 Canadian women aged 20 to 69 in a national survey conducted in 2007. The questions in the survey asked women about their body mass index, whether they had a regular physician and if they received breast, colon and cervical cancer screening tests on a regular basis. If they didn’t they were asked why.
The study found that increasing obesity was associated with decreasing odds of Pap smear testing.
“Obese women are 30 to 40 per cent less likely depending on the degree of obesity to have recommended cervical cancer screening performed, ” said Raj Padwal, a study author and a researcher at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine, in a release.
The authors point out that with growing numbers of obese patients in Canada, and the higher prevalence of cancers and cancer-related mortality in this group, a failure to screen women adequately for cancer is of significant concern.
They believe the reasons could be numerous.
“A wide range of health system, patient, and provider factors likely influence the relationship between excess body weight and the receipt of preventive cancer screening,” reads the study. “Obese patients may suffer from restricted mobility or may be less willing to undergo testing.”
The study found that the severely obese were twice as likely than average-weight participants to cite fear of the procedure, due to pain, embarrassment or anxiety about the result.
Other possible factors that may hinder screening include an unwillingness on the part of health-care providers to perform the test due to increased difficulty in conducting an exam or negative stereotypes of these individuals.
Current recommendations call for annual pap smears in sexually active women 18 and over, dropping to every three years until age 69 after two normal smears.
“Lower utilization of this recommended screening practice may contribute to poorer health outcomes noted in overweight/obese women,” warns the study. “The identification of both patient and provider barriers to cancer screening should be emphasized, and efforts made to remove these barriers among this high-risk population.”
Source : American Journal of Preventative Medicine.