Millions of woman in the US between the ages of 15 and 21 are receiving potentially unnecessary pelvic exams and cervical cancer screening with possibly unhealthy side effects , new research suggests . Undergoing needless tests can head to fictive - positivistic test results , which may increase associated anxiety and aesculapian costs as well as prompt unnecessary treatment .
" Many young women associate the examination with fear , anxiousness , overplus , uncomfortableness , and pain . Some adolescent girls and young women may forgo contraception or STI screening because of fear associated with these exam , which could lead to unintended maternity and may increase overall health risk , " study source Jin Qin told IFLScience .
To determine the prevalence of young women in the US receiving either a two-handed pelvic examination ( BPE ) or a Papanicolaou ( Pap ) test , researchers at the University of California San Francisco ( UCSF ) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) analyse survey data between 2011 and 2017 . Of the more than 3,400 adult female between the ages of 15 and 20 analyze , more than one-half had welcome a pelvic examination within the previous year that was deemed potentially unnecessary .
This analysis found that more than half of BPEs and almost three - quarters of Pap tests were potentially unnecessary , give away women to preventable harms , take note the authors inJAMA Internal Medicine .
more or less one - in - five untried women receive a BPE or Pap test in the last twelvemonth , almost all of which were perform at the same time . More than half of BPEs and nearly three - twenty-five percent of tit tests were deemed potentially unneeded . Based on these effect , the author job that 1.4 million pelvic examination and 1.6 million pap tests performed on female between 15 and 20 geezerhood across the country are medically unneeded . Additionally , young woman who were using some sort of birth control were 75 per centum more probable to get a mammilla mental testing and 31 percentage more likely to receive a pelvic test even though neither exam is needed to incur most hormonal birth control gadget or CRT screen for most STIs . Qin distinguish IFLScience that the researchers are not indisputable why million of girls are still receiving the exams , but tot up that " unlearning is hard " .
" Routine screen pelvic examination has long been performed in woman during annual preventive visit . In increase , a pelvic examination has traditionally been do to block out for sexually transmitted infections or prior to ethical drug of hormonal contraception . It could be hard to deepen the old practice that lasted for decades , " tell Qin .
A physician conducts a BPE by put in two fingers into the vagina while also providing external pressure for inspect the vagina and other generative reed organ , which the study authors describe as an “ trespassing and controversial testing part . ” closely every BPE was done in conjugation with a nipple test , whereby a doctor place a speculum inside the vagina to collect cells from the cervix for screen for cervical cancer .
Women under the age of 21 should not be sort for cervical cancer , irrespective of the age of intimate initiation or other risk of exposure ingredient , according toguidelinesset off by the American Cancer Society , American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology , and the American Society for Clinical Pathology . Only women within this geezerhood chemical group who are pregnant or present symptom should count such examination . Pap tests should only be repeatedevery three yearsfollowing normal results . The results indicate a lag in clinical drill despite professional guidepost and recommendations – a cost that add up up to an count on $ 123 million each year .
The source are quick to note that they used ego - reported information , which may have report errors and present difficulties in verifying accuracy . Even so , they distrust that their estimate is materialistic and intimate the need for education to improve cognizance of professional rule of thumb . Qin encourage parents and patients to ask their health care providers about why and when these exam and mental test are postulate .
