Adverse Effects of Increased Body Weight on Quantitative Measures of Mammographic Image Quality

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Abstract
OBJECTIVE. The purpose of our study was to show that compressed breast thickness on mammograms in overweight and obese women exceeds the thickness in normal-weight women and that increased thickness results in image degradation.SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Three hundred consecutive routine mammograms were reviewed. Patients were categorized according to body mass index. Compression thickness, compressive force, kilovoltage, and milliampere-seconds were recorded. Geometric unsharpness and contrast degradation were calculated for each body mass index category.RESULTS. Body mass index categories were lean (3%), normal (36%), overweight (36%), and obese (25%). Body mass index was directly correlated with compressed thickness. In the mediolateral oblique view, the mean thickness of the obese category exceeded normal thickness by 18 mm (p < 0.01), corresponding to a 32% increase in geometric unsharpness. Mean obese thickness exceeded lean thickness by 33 mm (p < 0.01), corresponding to a 79% increase in unsharpness. S...