The influence of breast self-examination on subsequent mammography participation.

OBJECTIVES We evaluated whether breast self-examination (BSE) influences subsequent mammography participation. METHODS We evaluated associations between BSE and subsequent mammography participation, adjusting for baseline screening behaviors and sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle characteristics, among women aged 40 years and older using data from the longitudinal Canadian National Population Health Survey. RESULTS Regular performance of BSE at baseline was not associated with receipt of a recent mammogram at follow-up among all women (adjusted odds ratio [OR]=1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI]= 0.75, 1.35) or with mammography uptake among the subgroup of women reporting never use at baseline (adjusted OR=0.78; 95% CI=0.50, 1.22). CONCLUSIONS The lack of association between performance of BSE and subsequent mammography participation suggests that not recommending BSE is unlikely to influence mammography participation.