A survey of average glandular dose to patients undergoing screen/film mammography -the influence of age

The aim of this study was to investigate age-related changes in average glandular dose (AGD) for Taiwanese women. A retrospective review of 4092 craniocaudal screen/film exposures was conducted. Subjects' age range was 30-79 years. The radiographic factors of each exposure were analyzed to determine the patient AGD. The results show that age has a strong modifying effect on glandularity, while the compressed breast thickness (CBT) and beam quality needed varied only slightly with age. The average values of CBT, glandularity, and AGD were 4.2 cm, 54%, and 1.70 mGy, respectively. The values of patient AGD for the age bands 55-59 and 75-79 years were factors of 0.96 and 0.70, respectively, compared to the age band 30-34 years. In conclusion, age appears to have a small effect on AGD for women surveyed in the age interval 30-59 years. As age differences increase, variation in AGD increases.