Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005 Jul;2(3):A04.
Epub 2005 Jun 15.

Are older adults up-to-date with cancer screening and vaccinations?

Douglas Shenson  1 , Julie Bolen, Mary Adams, Laura Seeff, Donald Blackman
Affiliations

Are older adults up-to-date with cancer screening and vaccinations?

Douglas Shenson et al. Prev Chronic Dis. 2005 Jul.

Abstract

Introduction: Public health organizations in the United States emphasize the importance of providing routine screening for breast cancer, cervical cancer, and colorectal cancer, as well as vaccinations against influenza and pneumococcal disease among older adults. We report a composite measure of adults aged 50 years and older who receive recommended cancer screening services and vaccinations.

Methods: We analyzed state data from the 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which included 105,860 respondents aged 50 and older. We created a composite measure that included colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy within 10 years or a fecal occult blood test in the past year, an influenza vaccination in the past year, a Papanicolaou test within 3 years for women with an intact cervix, a mammogram, and for adults aged 65 and older, a pneumonia vaccination during their lifetime. We performed separate analyses for four age and sex groups: men aged 50 to 64, women aged 50 to 64, men aged 65 and older, and women aged 65 and older.

Results: The percentage of each age and sex group that was up-to-date according to our composite measure ranged from 21.1% of women aged 50 to 64 (four tests) to 39.6% of men aged 65 and older (three tests). For each group, results varied by income, education, race/ethnicity, insurance status, and whether the respondent had a personal physician.

Conclusion: These results suggest the need to improve the delivery of cancer screenings and vaccinations among adults aged 50 and older. We propose continued efforts to measure use of clinical preventive services.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Bar graph
Figure 1
Prevalence estimates of adults aged ≥50 years who were up-to-date for cancer screening and vaccinations by age group, sex, and state, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 2002. Data from 49 states and the District of Columbia. Results were divided into quartiles, and the middle two quartiles were combined. Illinois data are not included because the state used a split sample for some preventive service questions.
Bar graph
Figure 2
Median and range of state-specific results for percentage of adults aged ≥50 years who were up-to-date for cancer screening and immunizations, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 2002. Data from 49 states and the District of Columbia. Illinois data are not included because the state used a split sample for some preventive service questions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . Healthy People 2010: understanding and improving health. 2nd ed. Washington (DC): U.S. Government Printing Office; 2000. Nov,
    1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . Guide to clinical preventive services. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. 3rd ed. Washington (DC): U.S. Government Printing Office; 2004. Apr,
    1. Zaza S, Briss PA, Harris KW, editors. The guide to community preventive services: what works to promote health? Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Oxford University Press; New York (NY): 2005.
    1. Barker L, Santoli J, McCauley M. National, state, and urban area vaccination coverage among children aged 19-35 months — U.S. 2003. MMWR. 2004;53(29):658–661. - PubMed
    1. Bolen JC, Rhodes L, Powell-Griner E, Bland SD, Holtzman D. State-specific prevalence of selected health behaviors, by race and ethnicity — Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 1997 MMWR CDC Surveill Summ. 2000;49(2):1–60. - PubMed