Association between sociodemographic features and mass screening of cytopathological exams showing uterine intraepithelial cervical injuries in Espírito Santo state, from 2006 to 2014

Abstract

Introduction: Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Brazil, a fact that makes it a major public health issue. Objective: Associating the screening aspects and sociodemographic features of women subjected to cytopathological exams in Espírito Santo State from January 2006 to December 2014, based on results suggesting intraepithelial lesion or high-grade intrauterine lesion without CC lesions. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study based on quantitative approach; data were collected in the SISCOLO database (DATASUS). Results: 2,295,801 Pap smear results recorded from 2006 to 2014 were analyzed; 2,283,403 (99.45%) of them excluded suggestive and high-grade lesions. Based on results of all exams presenting suggestive and high-grade lesion (12,420), it was possible seeing that most patients live in the metropolitan region (56%), are in the age group 25-64 years (80.27%), have incomplete elementary school (7.3%), are not white (6.18%), had their last preventive examination one year before (36%) and had been previously subjected to cytopathological examination (74.05%). All analyzed variables were statistically significant (p <0.001) when they were associated with the presence, or absence, of high-grade suggestive lesions/ high-grade lesions. Conclusion: The multidisciplinary humanized approach in primary care focused on health education helps strengthening the bond between patients and health care service/promotion, as well as enables better using preventive approaches.