To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: 1 in 5 Young Men Receives Recent Prostate Cancer Test URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/2280DA.htm Doctor's Guide August 11, 2008
HOBOKEN, NJ -- August 11, 2008 -- A new analysis finds that 1 in 5 men in their 40s has had a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test within the previous year and that young black men are more likely than young white men to have undergone the test. The study, published in the September 15 issue of CANCER, provides valuable information as experts discuss possible changes to prostate cancer screening recommendations. To shed light on current PSA screening practices in young men, Judd Moul, MD, and Dr. Charles Scales, MD, Duke Prostate Center and Urologic Surgery, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues obtained data from the 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The final sample for this study consisted of 58,511 men aged 40 and older.
The investigators found that 1 in 5 men had undergone screening in the previous year. Several sociodemographic characteristics were associated with PSA screening in younger men. In particular, young, black, non-Hispanic men were more likely than young white, non-Hispanic men to report having a PSA test in the previous year. This finding was independent of income, education, and access to care. The authors noted that these results are reassuring, showing that physicians are more likely to recommend screening among black men due to this group's elevated risk for prostate cancer. However, they also noted that PSA screening in this group remains potentially suboptimal; only about 1 in 3 African American men reported having a PSA test in the previous year.
The survey also revealed that younger Hispanic men were more likely to undergo PSA testing than younger white, non-Hispanic men. The probability of undergoing a PSA test was also higher with increasing obesity, as well as with higher household income and education level. Health insurance coverage and an ongoing relationship with a physician were also strongly associated with having had a recent PSA test.
"Our study is the first to specifically examine PSA screening in younger men, which provides an important assessment of quality of care, especially for high-risk groups," the authors wrote. "Further investigation will be required to understand the impact of new risk-stratification strategies, with particular focus on the policy implications of potentially large increases in healthcare resource use."
SOURCE: Wiley-Blackwell --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.