Purpose: This study sought to examine perceived risk and concerns for breast cancer according to awareness of breast density and states thereof among Korea women and to identify the impact of such awareness on screening intentions.
Materials and methods: This study was based on the 2017 Korean National Cancer Screening Survey of a nationally representative and randomly selected sample of Koreans. Ordinal logistic regression was conducted to examine associations for awareness of and knowledge on breast density in relation to psychological factors. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate significant factors associated with intentions to undergo breast cancer screening.
Results: Among a total of 1,609 women aged 40-69 years, 62.0% were unaware of their breast density, and only 29.7% had good breast density knowledge. Awareness of one's breast density and knowledge about breast density were positively associated with perceptions of absolute and comparative risk and cancer worry. Women aware of their breast density (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.35 for women aware of having a non-dense breast; aOR, 4.17 for women aware of having a dense breast) and women with a good level of breast density knowledge (aOR, 1.65) were more likely to undergo future breast cancer screening.
Conclusion: Breast density awareness and knowledge showed positive associations with psychological factors and breast cancer screening intentions. However, the majority of Korean women were not aware of their breast density status and demonstrated poor knowledge about breast density. These results demonstrate a need for better health communication concerning breast density.
Keywords: Awareness; Cancer worry; Dense breast; Knowledge; Perceived risks; Screening.