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CRC Screening Prevalence Remains Low Among Some Groups
A new analysis shows that despite the recommendation of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPST) that screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) begin at age 45 rather than age 50, investigators found that prevalence of screening among those aged 50-54 year remains low.
The research team assessed changes in the rates of CRC screening by colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, CT colonography, or stool-based tests among adults aged 50 to 75 years using data from the National Health Interview Survey. For the survey years 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2018, the investigators compared rates of screening by age, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, family income, and health insurance. They further compared increases in prevalence of CRC screening from 2000 to 2018 by 5-year age groups from 50–54 through 70–75 years.
The prevalence of CRC screening overall increased from 36.7% in 2000 to 66.1% in 2018. Among age groups, the prevalence of screening was lowest for age 50 to 54 years, at 47.6%. Hispanics (56.5%) and Asians (57.1%) showed the lowest screening rates according to race or ethnicity. Other groups with low CRC screening prevalence included those with less than a high school diploma (53.6%), low-income families (56.6%), or patients without insurance (39.7%).
“Increases in prevalence over time differed by 5-year age group,” the authors noted. “For example, prevalence increased from 28.2% in 2000 to 47.6% in 2018 (+19.4%; 95% CI, 13.1–25.6) for age 50 to 54 years but from 46.4% to 78.0% (+31.6%; 95% CI, 25.4%–37.7%) for age 70 to 75 years. This pattern was consistent across race/ethnicity, educational attainment, family income, and health insurance.”
The authors concluded, “As new guidelines are implemented, care must be taken to ensure screening benefits are realized equally by all population groups, particularly newly eligible adults ages 45 to 49 years.”
—Rebecca Mashaw
Reference:
Liu PH, Sanford NN, Liang PS, Singal AG, Murphy CC. Persistent disparities in colorectal cancer screening: A tell-tale sign for implementing new guidelines in younger adults. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. Published online June 23, 2022.
