Eligibility for screening is as follows: 2021 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force StandardsThe guidelines recommend annual lung cancer screening for high-risk individuals (those aged 50 to 80 who are current smokers or have quit within the past 15 years and have smoked one pack of cigarettes per day for 20 years or more).
The study sample of approximately 26,000 people represented 13.17 million people nationwide who were eligible for lung cancer screening, of whom just under one-fifth were up to date on recommended tests. Sifting. Older people are more likely to be adhering to testing, with 27.1% of respondents aged 70-79 adhering to testing compared with 6.7% of those aged 50-54.
Lung cancer screening rates are lower in the South, with Oklahoma seeing an average of just 10.5 percent uptake, and the burden of lung cancer is high. Additionally, state-level Medicaid expansion was associated with up-to-date lung cancer screening. The 39 states that expanded Medicaid and those with greater screening capacity had higher rates of people up-to-date on screening, the researchers said.
People with comorbidities were also more likely to have kept their testing up to date: About 25% of subjects with three or more comorbidities had been tested. State-based efforts to expand access to health care and testing facilities could improve testing rates and reduce disparities, the authors write.
Lung cancer is “usually easily treatable in its early stages,” so testing can prevent death from the disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This article is part of The Washington Post’s “Big Numbers” series, which provides brief statistical insights into health issues. Additional information and related studies are available via hyperlinks.
