Mental Illness Prevents Women from Getting Screened for Breast Cancer

Sharon Moore December 05, 2014

New research discovers that women experiencing anxiety, depression, and other forms of mental illness are less likely to be screened for breast cancer.

Researchers say prior studies have shown people with mental illness experience a higher mortality rate due to cancer. Although the reason for this is not entirely known, many associate the prevalence of cancer to high rates of risk factors such as smoking.

In addition, it appears cancer is often detected later in those with mental illness. Previous research has shown that people with mental illness receive suboptimal medical care.

For the study, scientists wanted to find out whether women with a mental illness are less likely to be screened for breast cancer than those who do not have mental health issues. Could the diagnosis of a mental health condition prejudice receipt of a screening mammogram?

researchers from the Universities of Leicester and Greenwich reviewed 24 publications reporting breast cancer screening practices in women with mental illness (around 700,000), and five studies investigating screening for those in distress but who had not been diagnosed with a mental illness (nearly 21,500).

“We have previously shown that there are inequalities in medical care for people who happen to have a mental health diagnosis. This is partly explained by poorer attendance but also partly explained by willingness of staff to treat a patient’s medical condition at the same time as a mental health condition,” said Mitchell.

“In this study, we found that mental ill health was linked with 45,000 missed screens which potentially could account for 90 avoidable deaths per annum in the UK alone. Clearly patients with mental illness should receive care that is at least comparable with care given to the general population. Every effort should be made to educate and support women with mental illness called for screening.”

The study was published online in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Source of this article: Mental Illness Seen as Barrier to Breast Cancer Screens