Impact of Age, Race, and Family History on COVID-19 Related Changes in Breast Cancer Screening among the Boston Mammography Cohort Study

BackgroundWe studied women enrolled in the Boston Mammography Cohort Study to investigate whether subgroups defined by age, race, or family history of breast cancer experienced differences in trends of screening or diagnostic imaging rates during the COVID-19 lockdown and had slower rebound in trends of these rates during reopening.MethodsWe compared trends of monthly breast cancer screening and diagnostic imaging rates over time between the pre-COVID-19, lockdown, and reopening periods and tested for differences in the monthly trend within the same period by age (ResultsOverall, we observed a decline in breast cancer screening and diagnostic imaging rates. The monthly trend of breast cancer screening rates for women age ≥50 was 5% higher (p=0.005) in the pre-COVID-19 period but was 19% lower in the reopening phase than that of women agedDiscussionThe rebound in screening was lower in women age ≥50 and lower in non-White women for diagnostic imaging. Careful attention must be paid as the COVID-19 recovery continues to ensure equitable resumption of care.FundingThe project was supported by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (RT). Researchers were supported by the University of Louisville CIEHS P30 ES030283 (NCD), K01CA188075 (ETW), T32CA09001 (NCD, MOS, MEB) P30 ES000002 (JH, FL), and NIH/NCI K00 CA212222 (MEB). This manuscript is the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.