Overall Prevalence of Being Up-to-Date With Lung Cancer Screening Is Low

Increase in UTD-LCS prevalence seen with age and number of comorbidities; relatively lower levels seen in Southern states

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, June 21, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The overall prevalence of up-to-date (UTD) lung cancer screening (LCS) was low in 2022, with prevalence increasing with age and number of comorbidities, according to a study published online June 10 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Priti Bandi, Ph.D., from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues estimated the contemporary prevalence of UTD-LCS in the United States nationwide and across the 50 states and District of Columbia in a cross-sectional study using data from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey for respondents aged 50 to 79 years who were eligible for LCS.

A total of 25,958 sample respondents were eligible for LCS. The researchers found that the UTD-LCS prevalence was 18.1 percent overall and varied from 9.7 to 31.0 percent across states, with relatively lower levels in Southern states characterized by a high burden of LC mortality. There was an increase in UTD-LCS prevalence seen with age (6.7 and 27.1 percent for ages 50 to 54 and 70 to 79 years, respectively) and with number of comorbidities (8.7 and 24.6 percent for none and three or more, respectively). Overall, 3.7 and 5.1 percent of those without insurance and without a usual source of care, respectively, were UTD with LCS; higher prevalence of UTD-LCS was seen with state-level Medicaid expansions (adjusted prevalence ratio, 2.68) and higher screening capacity levels (high versus low: adjusted prevalence ratio, 1.93).

“Improving health care access for persons with low income through Medicaid expansion and increasing screening capacity may be associated with increased uptake and reduced disparities,” the authors write.

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