US hysterectomy prevalence by age, race and ethnicity from BRFSS and NHIS: implications for analyses of cervical and uterine cancer rates

Purpose Previous reports of gynecologic cancer rates have adjusted for hysterectomy prevalence with data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) or the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). We sought to determine if BRFSS and NHIS produce similar estimates of hysterectomy prevalence. Methods Using data from BRFSS and NHIS, we calculated hysterectomy prevalence for women aged 20-79 years, stratified by 10-year age groups, survey year (2010, 2018), and race/ethnicity (Hispanic, non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaskan Native, non-Hispanic Asian, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic all other race groups). Results BRFSS and NHIS produced similar increasing trends in hysterectomy prevalence by age and directional differences by race and ethnicity. Fewer than 2% of women aged 20-29 years and more than 4 out of 10 women aged 70-79 years reported having had a hysterectomy. Conclusion Our analyses suggest adjustment for hysterectomy prevalence with data from either survey would likely reduce distortion in cervical and uterine cancer rates. BRFSS, a survey which has a larger sample size than NHIS, may better support analyses of hysterectomy estimates for smaller subpopulations.

Automated summary

The study compared hysterectomy prevalence estimates from BRFSS and NHIS, finding similar increasing trends by age but directional differences by race and ethnicity. Women aged 70-79 had the highest reported rates of hysterectomy.