Reversal of Associations Between Spanish Language Use and Mammography and Pap Smear Testing

• Published in: Journal of immigrant and minority health 2013-04, Vol.15 (2), p.255-261
• Main Authors: Suneja, Gita, Diaz, Joseph A., Roberts, Mary, Rakowski, William
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acculturation; Adult; Attrition (Research Studies); Body Composition; Body mass index; Breast cancer; Cancer; Cervical cancer; Comparative Law; Cross-Sectional Studies; Education; Employment Level; Ethnic groups; Ethnicity; Female; Females; Guidelines; Health insurance; Health services utilization; Health Surveys; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic or Latino; Humans; Immigrants; Independent variables; Insurance; International & Foreign Law; Language; Language Arts; Latin American people; Mammography; Mammography - statistics & numerical data; Marital Status; Medical screening; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Minority & ethnic groups; Mortality; Multivariate analysis; Noncitizens; ORIGINAL PAPER; Pap smear; Polls & surveys; Predictor Variables; Pregnancy; Private International Law; Public Health; Reversal; Risk factors; Risk taking; Screening; Secondary schools; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic Status; Sociology; Spanish; Spanish language; Statistical Analysis; Studies; Surveillance; United States - epidemiology; Vaginal Smears - statistics & numerical data; Variables; White people; Women; Womens health
• ISSN: 1557-1912; 1557-1920
• DOI: 10.1007/s10903-012-9694-3

Latina women are less likely to utilize cancer screening services than are non-Latina White women. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between preferred language (English vs. Spanish) and receipt of mammography and Pap-smear testing among US Latinas and non-Latinas. Cross-sectional analysis of the 2008 and 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys. While Latinas responding to the BRFSS in English or in Spanish had unadjusted lower odds of receiving mammography testing, in multivariable analysis Latinas responding-in-Spanish had 2.20 times the odds (OR = 2.20, 95 % CI, 1.90–2.55) of reporting mammography compared to non-Latinas. Similarly, Latinas responding-in-Spanish had lower unadjusted odds of receiving Pap-smear testing. However, Latinas responding-in-Spanish had 2.37 times the odds (OR = 2.37 CI, 2.04–2.75) of reporting having received Pap smear testing compared to non-Latinas in multivariate analysis. The results of this paper further confirm the “reversed associations” among Latinas and mammography and Pap smear testing described in previous studies and suggest that in addition to insurance status, preferred language may be a key variable contributing to the reversal phenomenon observed among Latinas.