June 5 (HealthDay News) -- Publicity about pop star Kylie Minogue's breast cancer diagnosis in April 2005 led to a large increase in mammography and ultrasound procedures among low-risk women, says an Australian study.

In the six months following Minogue's diagnosis, mammography and ultrasound procedures increased 30 percent among women ages 25 to 44, who are considered to be at low risk for breast cancer. Breast biopsies in this age group increased 46 percent, CBC News reported.

In women ages 35 to 44, breast imaging increased 25 percent and breast biopsies increased 37 percent, the University of Melbourne study found.

There was no overall increase in rates of surgery to remove breast tumors. The study appears in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

"Raising women's awareness of the need to get screened is generally a good thing," study leader Margaret Kelaher said in a prepared statement, CBC News reported. "But these findings suggest that thousands of additional imaging procedures and biopsies did not improve breast cancer detection among young women. It appears there has been a situation where publicity has led to many low-risk women using -- and probably overusing -- screening services."