Participation in cervical cancer screening by age and region -: A cohort study with a 3 1/2 year follow-up on 2 223 135 women in Bavaria

Cervical cancer rates are higher in Germany than in comparable European countries. Are sufficient screening participation rates achieved? We analyzed data froth 2 223 135 Bavarian women between 2002/3 and 2005/4 in a retrospective cohort, to evaluate screening participation, frequency, age dependencies and regional differences. On average, 70% of women participated once in three years. Poor participation rates in general are unlikely to account for the high cervical cancer rates in Germany. Low participation rates in elderly women, particularly those in rural regions might contribute to the well-known peak of cervical cancer in elderly women.