[Prevalence and factors associated with conducting screening tests for prostate cancer in the elderly in Juiz de Fora in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil].

Little is known about screening practices for prostate cancer in elderly Brazilians. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of screening tests for prostate cancer in the elderly in Juiz de Fora in the state of Minas Gerais and to analyze the associated factors. This is a cross-sectional study with 2825 men aged 60 years or older who participated in the vaccination against influenza campaign in 2006. Social and demographic variables and others related to health conditions and the use of health services were analyzed. Poisson regression multivariate analysis was used to analyze associations between the covariates and the dependent variables and the prevalence of the tests was estimated. The median age was 70.0 (± 7.2) years. The prevalence of performing digital rectal examination was 61.0% and 75.5% for PSA. The "family history of prostate cancer," "type of health service," "marital status," "regular use of medication" and "education" variables were independent factors associated with performing digital rectal examination. The same variables, with the exception of "marital status" remained in the multiple model for PSA. The study showed that many seniors have adopted the practice of screening and the need to measure and describe this process in view of its possible repercussions on public health.