Percentage mammographic density or absolute breast density for risk stratification in breast screening: Possible implications for socioeconomic health disparity.

Deprivation-related differences in %MD in the screening population are largely explained by differences in breast fat volume (NDV) which reflects BMI. Women in more deprived areas, where obesity and breast cancer mortality rates are higher, have increased breast adiposity and may miss out on risk-adapted screening if stratification is based solely on %MD or BIRADS classification.