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Rate of Severe Stomach Birth Defect Doubled Over Two Decades: CDC

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A birth defect involving the stomach called gastroschisis has been increasing among U.S. infants for decades and more than doubled over 18 years, federal health officials report.

Babies with gastroschisis have a hole in the stomach wall at birth through which the intestines, and sometimes other organs such as the liver, protrude. The condition requires immediate surgery. Most babies do well after the operation, experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

“We don’t know why gastroschisis is increasing,” said Suzanne Gilboa, team leader and an epidemiologist in the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

Despite the increase, the disorder is still rare. About 2,000 babies in the United States are born each year with gastroschisis, the CDC said.

What causes the condition isn’t known, Gilboa said. However, some possible risk factors have been identified. These include smoking, illegal drug use, alcohol use, and being underweight before getting pregnant. “But we don’t know if these are the explanation for what we are seeing,” Gilboa said.

The report was published in the Jan. 22 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

“The concerning part of this is the inexorable rise in gastroschisis going back to the 1970s,” said Dr. Edward McCabe, senior vice president and chief medical officer at the March of Dimes.

More research is needed, he said. “When you see something rising as fast as this is in all population groups, and in all ages, it tells you something serious is going on. We need to try and figure out what it is so we can prevent the rise,” McCabe said.

Surgery returns the protruding organs into the baby’s body and seals the stomach wall. Even after surgery, however, babies can have problems eating or digesting food. In some cases, the condition can be life-threatening, Gilboa said.

Gastroschisis is a surgical emergency, McCabe said. “Babies still die from infection after surgery,” he added.

For the study, CDC researchers collected data from 14 states. They compared the prevalence of gastroschisis among babies born to mothers of different ages from 1995 to 2005 with those born between 2006 and 2012.

Gastroschisis was most common among mothers younger than 20 and in babies born to young black women, the report found. From 1995 to 2012, a 263 percent increase in gastroschisis occurred among babies born to black mothers 20 or younger, the research showed.

The increase in gastroschisis among teen mothers is not due to an increase in the number of births in teen mothers. Teen births actually declined over the same period, the report said. Between 1995 and 2012, the incidence of gastroschisis increased among mothers of all ages and racial and ethnic groups.

Gilboa said more research is needed “to figure out why this increase is happening. Planning and preparing for pregnancy is really important — things like having a healthy diet and weight, and not smoking or drinking, avoiding drug use and sexually transmitted diseases are all really important.”

McCabe agreed. “Women need good preconception and prenatal care, especially if these lifestyle issues are involved,” he said. “Women need to plan their pregnancy and go into it in the best condition they can.”

More information

For more about gastroschisis, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Excess Weight Linked to Blood Clot Risk in Kids

THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Obese children and teens may have an increased risk for blood clots in their veins, called venous thromboembolism (VTE), a new study suggests.

“This is important because the incidence of pediatric VTE has increased dramatically over the last 20 years, and childhood obesity remains highly prevalent in the United States,” lead study author Dr. Elizabeth Halvorson, assistant professor of pediatrics at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., said in a hospital news release.

While the study found a connection between obesity in youngsters and blood clots, the research wasn’t designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

“Our study presents data from a single institution with a relatively small sample size,” Halvorson pointed out. “But it does demonstrate an association between obesity and VTE in children, which should be explored further in larger future studies,” she added.

Obesity is a known risk factor for blood clots in adults, but previous research in youngsters has produced mixed findings. Untreated, blood clots can cause both immediate and long-term health problems.

In the current study, researchers reviewed the medical charts of 88 children. The kids were between the ages of 2 and 18. All had been diagnosed with blood clots in their veins between 2000 and 2012.

More than 37 percent of the patients were obese, the study authors found. Most of the children also had other known risk factors for blood clots, the researchers said.

After adjusting for other risk factors, such as bloodstream infection and time spent in an intensive care unit, the investigators still found a small but statistically significant association between obesity and blood clots in children and teens.

The study was published in the January issue of the journal Hospital Pediatrics.

More information

The American Society of Hematology has more about blood clots.

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Supermarkets Nearby May Help Kids Lose Some Weight: Study

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Maybe living close to a large supermarket can help obese children slim down, new research suggests.

“Children enrolled in an obesity intervention program who lived closer to a supermarket decreased their body mass index (BMI) and increased their fruit and vegetable intake,” said Dr. Lauren Fiechtner, study lead author and director of nutrition at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston.

But supermarket proximity alone might not have tipped the scales. The kids whose habits changed the most were also enrolled in a weight-loss program and given advice on how to make better food choices, Fiechtner said.

Obesity is a major public health issue in the United States. The percentage of obese children aged 6 to 11 more than doubled to nearly 18 percent between 1980 and 2012, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previous evidence suggests that access to retailers selling healthful foods might help improve weight.

For the study, published online Jan. 21 in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers followed nearly 500 children, ages 6 to 12, who were participating in an obesity trial in Massachusetts between 2011 and 2013. All had a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.

Some kids received usual care, while others got targeted weight loss interventions, with components such as health coaches, newsletters telling parents how to encourage fruit and vegetable intake, and kid-friendly recipes.

Closeness to a supermarket appeared linked to greater fruit and vegetable intake and weight loss, but had no effect on sugary beverage intake, the study found. Sugary beverages have been linked with weight gain.

With each 1-mile decrease in distance to a supermarket, those in the weight loss group increased their fruit and vegetable intake by .29 servings every day and decreased their BMI a small amount — an average of 0.04 units — compared to the usual-care group. For reference, a BMI change of 0.05 units for a 9-year-old girl in the 95th percentile for BMI is 1.1 pounds, according to the study.

When the researchers plugged in factors such as household income and level of education, the positive effect of a nearby supermarket weakened, however.

Previous research on access to food stores has produced conflicting findings. In one study, Brian Elbel of New York University found children’s diets didn’t change much after a full-service supermarket opened in their low-income neighborhood.

“We looked at the influence of supermarkets overall,” said Elbel, an associate professor of population health and health policy. “These authors looked at the influence specifically for those enrolled in an obesity program. I think this paper shows us that in certain circumstances, including for those who are motivated to lose weight, supermarket access could be an important contributor.”

The findings should be interpreted cautiously, said Jennifer Temple, an associate professor in the department of community health and health behavior at the State University of New York at Buffalo, who was not involved in the new study.

The researchers found a link, she said, but “it is impossible to determine whether grocery store proximity caused the difference in BMI change or in fruit and vegetable intake.”

Improvements in fruit and vegetable consumption and BMI may be due to other factors, such as household income, she said.

Future research “should focus on weight-loss interventions that are tailored to families that have limited access to grocery stores in order to help them make healthier food choices in the stores and restaurants that are easily available to them,” Temple said.

These healthier choices might include purchasing canned and frozen vegetables and/or using local farmers’ markets when available, she added.

Fiechtner suggested buying longer-lasting produce. “Apples last one or two weeks sometimes,” she pointed out. Oranges tend to outlast grapes and bananas, she noted. Frozen fruit with no sugar added is another option, she said.

More information

For help increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, see Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

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Majority of Americans Supports ‘Smart’ Guns, Survey Reveals

THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) — The majority of Americans support “smart” — or childproof — guns, a new survey finds.

Johns Hopkins researchers said the results debunk claims by gun makers and gun groups that there is no market for smart guns, which can only operate in the hands of an authorized user.

“The results of this study show that there is potentially a large commercial market for smart gun technology,” researcher Julia Wolfson said in a Hopkins news release.

“This has been one of the biggest arguments against smart guns, that people just don’t want them. This research shows otherwise,” she added. Wolfson is a fellow in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School’s Center for a Livable Future and a Ph.D. candidate in the department of health policy and management.

The web-based survey, conducted in January 2015, included about 4,000 people across the United States. The respondents were nearly evenly split among gun owners and those who did not own guns.

Fifty-nine percent of all the survey participants said they would be willing to consider a smart gun if they were to buy a new weapon. Among current gun owners, 40 percent said they would be willing to buy a smart gun.

Broken down by political identification, support for smart guns was 71 percent among liberals, 56 percent among moderates and 56 percent among conservatives, according to the researchers.

The findings appear in the Jan. 21 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

A 2013 study funded by gun makers suggested that just 14 percent of Americans would be willing to buy a smart gun, the researchers said.

Smart guns use fingerprint or radio frequency identification to prevent unauthorized people from firing them, the researchers explained. Widespread use of smart guns would reduce the numbers of suicides and stolen or borrowed guns used in crimes and accidental shootings of children by other children, proponents say.

Smart guns are not currently sold in the United States. But President Barack Obama recently issued a directive for federal authorities to speed availability of gun safety technology and to consider the purchase of smart guns.

The technology to create smart guns is already used in other products, including smartphones and cars, the researchers pointed out.

“By simply using technology that already exists and bringing it to the marketplace, the public health benefits could be enormous, allowing us to take a standard injury prevention approach to preventing gun violence,” study co-author Dr. Stephen Teret said in the news release. Teret is a professor in the Bloomberg School’s department of health policy and management, and founding director of the Center for Gun Policy and Research.

“Countless lives that would otherwise have been lost to suicide, accidental shootings and guns getting into the wrong hands could be saved. Policymakers and manufacturers should re-examine the potential for smart guns to not only produce a profit, but also to lessen the toll of gun deaths in the United States,” Teret said.

There were more than 33,600 gun-related deaths in the United States in 2013. Most were suicides (more than 21,000), but there were also more than 11,000 gun-related murders and more than 500 deaths from unintentional shootings, the researchers said.

And more than 84,000 people suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds in 2013 that required hospital or emergency room treatment, the researchers added.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Justice has more on gun violence.

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3 Easy Dishes That a Celeb Nutritionist Makes for Dinner

Here at Health, we are always looking for recipes that are loaded with great nutrition, of course—but they also have to be super-delicious and satisfying. And they have to be easy to make, and can’t call for exotic ingredients. Oh, and bonus points if the end result is beautiful.

If that seems like a tall order, it is; but the recipes below tick all of the boxes. You will love these unfussy, veg-loaded, tasty dishes from the new cookbook Cook. Nourish. Glow. ($30, amazon.com) by celebrity nutritionist Amelia Freer.

Broccoli and Cashew Steam-Fry

Photo: Susan Bell

Serves: 4

1 tsp. coconut oil

1 head of broccoli, broken into florets (approx. ½ lb. florets)

½ cup cashews, soaked in water for 1 hour

1 ¾-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, thinly sliced

A good splash of coconut aminos or tamari (wheat-free soy sauce)

Sea salt or pink Himalayan salt

Chili flakes, optional

Put 1 tsp. coconut oil into a frying pan on a medium heat. Add broccoli florets and 2 Tbsp. water. Drain cashews and give them a quick rinse under fresh cold water, then add to pan with ginger and coconut aminos.
Mix well and steam-fry for 3 to 4 minutes (you want the broccoli to be crunchy, not soft), tossing frequently. Sprinkle with a little salt and chili flakes, if desired, and serve immediately.

PER SERVING: 129 Calories, 9g Fat (3g Sat.), 0mg Chol., 2g Fiber, 4g Pro., 9g Carb., 171mg Sod., 2mg Iron, 35mg Calcium

Roasted Peppers with Baked Eggs

Photo: Susan Bell

Serves: 1

1 large fresh bell pepper (any color), halved, seeds removed

Olive oil

8 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped

2 tsp. harissa paste

1 oz. fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs, preferably free-range or organic

A small handful of fresh basil leaves, finely shredded

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place pepper halves on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix sun-dried tomatoes and harissa paste together in a medium bowl. Stir in spinach; season with salt and pepper.
Remove pepper halves from oven. Spoon tomato and spinach mixture into pepper halves. Use the spoon to make a well in center, then break a whole egg slowly over top of each half (take care not to let the egg spill over). Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until egg yolks are cooked as you like. Sprinkle with a little shredded basil before serving.

PER SERVING: 291 Calories, 15g Fat (4g Sat.), 372mg Chol., 7g Fiber, 17g Pro., 23g Carb., 380mg Sod., 5mg Iron, 131mg Calcium

RELATED: 13 Vegetarian Soup Recipes

Steam-Fried Cabbage with Poached Salmon

Photo: Susan Bell

Serves: 2

2 tsp. coconut oil

½ pound white or red cabbage, shredded

2 wild salmon fillets, skin removed

Zest and juice of ½ lemon

1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed, finely chopped

1 Tbsp. capers, drained and rinsed

1 small bunch fresh parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add 2 tsp. coconut oil and 2 Tbsp. water. Add shredded cabbage, mix well, cover and cook for 3 minutes.
Place salmon fillets on top of cabbage, adding 2 more Tbsp. water if necessary. Cover again and cook 5 to 6 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure cabbage isn’t sticking to bottom of pan. If it is, add a splash more water.
Once salmon has cooked, add lemon zest and juice, jalapeno, capers and parsley to pan. Season with sea salt and black pepper and serve salmon on top of the cabbage.

PER SERVING: 239 Calories, 12g Fat (5g Sat.), 62mg Chol., 4g Fiber, 24g Pro., 9g Carb., 275mg Sod., 2mg Iron, 76mg Calcium

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Did Antarctic Explorer Shackleton Have a ‘Hole in His Heart’?

THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A century ago, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton was a key figure in the race to explore Antarctica. Now, two expert physicians believe he may have done so while battling a hidden foe: a congenital heart defect.

Shackleton made the first crossing of the mountains and glaciers on the island of South Georgia without any health problems, but suffered repeated bouts of breathlessness and weakness on subsequent Antarctic expeditions.

The physical problems that plagued Shackleton have long been a mystery, however. In an attempt to solve it, retired anesthetist Dr. Ian Calder and consultant cardiologist Dr. Jan Till studied documents held at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, England.

The researchers concluded that Shackleton was born with a hole in his heart — an atrial septal defect. The two experts published their theory online recently in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

“The evidence rests in diary entries made by Dr. Eric Marshall, the medical officer of Shackleton’s second expedition to the Antarctic in 1907-1909,” Calder said in a journal news release. “The detection and treatment of an atrial septal defect is now reasonably straightforward, but was not available to Shackleton.”

Shackleton likely knew there was something wrong with his heart because he refused to be examined by doctors — who might have then tried to stop him from going to Antarctica, Calder and Till suggested.

“Some may feel that Sir Ernest was irresponsible in undertaking the leadership of Antarctic expeditions if he suspected a problem, but to paraphrase Dr. [Samuel] Johnson, there is seldom a shortage of prudent people, whilst the great things are done by those who are prepared to take a risk,” Calder said.

In the race to be the first to the South Pole, Shackleton lost to Roald Amundsen in December 1911. Shackleton died of a heart attack while on his fourth Antarctic expedition in 1922 at age 47.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about “hole in the heart” defects.

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Simple Blood Test May Predict a Blood Cancer’s Return

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) — British researchers say a simple blood test may be a cheap, easy and effective way to spot risk of recurrence of a common form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

This type of AML is characterized by a mutation in the NPM1 gene. A third of AML patients have this form of the deadly blood and bone marrow cancer.

Despite aggressive chemotherapy, a certain percentage of patients with this mutated gene will see their disease return. And many would benefit from a pre-emptive, lifesaving bone marrow transplant — sometimes called stem cell transplantation, the researchers noted.

But a transplant ultimately destroys not only the marrow’s cancerous cells but healthy tissue as well. So, doctors have long sought a reliable way of separating those in true need of a transplant from those who would likely fare well without one, the researchers said.

The problem: Accurately pinpointing the highest-risk patients has proven difficult, with doctors typically forced to rely on costly and time-consuming genetic testing of extracted tumor tissue.

Enter the so-called “Minimal Residual Disease” (MRD) test.

MRD testing is designed to help doctors screen for patients whose post-chemotherapy blood contains a telltale sign of the NPM1 gene mutation. Those who have that sign are at high risk for recurrence of the leukemia, and need a transplant, the researchers explained.

The test is now being used in a number of European countries, said study author Dr. David Grimwade. He is a professor of molecular haematology in the department of medical and molecular genetics with the Cancer Genetics Lab at King’s College London.

“We are using it to guide transplantation in the current U.K. national trial for younger adults with AML,” he said.

Grimwade and his colleagues tried the test (which is not yet approved for use in the United States) on more than 2,500 blood samples obtained from nearly 350 patients with the NPM1 mutation.

At the same time, standard genetic testing was conducted on almost 275 other blood samples.

“Our key finding,” said Grimwade, “is that the MRD test — which is pretty cheap and easy to apply — provides a much more powerful predictor of patient outcome in this group of AML patients as compared to genetic profiling of the tumor sample, which is a much more expensive test.”

The investigators said the test found evidence of a high risk for disease recurrence in 15 percent of the tested samples, following a second round of chemotherapy. Finding that evidence suggested a more than 80 percent chance of disease recurrence after three years. This compared with just a 30 percent risk of disease recurrence among the other AML patients.

The study findings were published in the Jan. 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

In the end, Grimwade said his team concluded that the MRD test “provides a far stronger predictor of patient outcome than the standard tests used to determine whether a patient should have a stem cell transplant or not. We also show that serial MRD testing after completion of therapy can pinpoint precisely which patients are destined to relapse, allowing the opportunity for early intervention preventing full-blown relapse from occurring.”

Dr. Michael Burke, author of an accompanying editorial in the journal, said the finding is important given that “a relapse in AML is almost certain death.”

“And this study,” he added, “points out that you can actually follow very, very low levels of leukemia using this NPM1 marker, and that those patients in whom it disappears after a couple of cycles of chemo will do exceedingly well. They don’t need a bone marrow transplant. But those with high levels of this marker after two rounds of chemo fare terribly and really should go on to have the transplant. So, this is very encouraging news.”

Burke is director of the Leukemia Lymphoma Program at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

More information

There’s more on acute myeloid leukemia at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

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Check Your Risk for Diabetes, CDC Urges

THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) — No one is excused from diabetes. That’s the message behind a new public education campaign targeting the 86 million American adults with what’s known as prediabetes.

More than one in three adults in the United States has prediabetes, a serious health condition that can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart attack and stroke, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If you have prediabetes, you have higher than normal blood sugar levels, but not high enough to be diagnosed with full-blown diabetes.

“Awareness is crucial in the effort to stop type 2 diabetes,” David Marrero, director of the Diabetes Translation Research Center at Indiana University School of Medicine, said in a CDC news release.

To learn your risk, you can take a short online test at DoIHavePrediabetes.org. The test can also be taken through texts and interactive TV and radio announcements.

“This is a very simple and quick tool that will allow people to see if they are at risk for prediabetes or diabetes,” said Dr. Mary Vouyiouklis Kellis, an endocrinologist at Cleveland Clinic. “If they are at higher risk, this will hopefully prompt them to seek medical attention sooner.”

The majority of people with prediabetes don’t know they have it. Yet, if not treated, up to 30 percent of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years, according to the news release.

“One of the problems with prediabetes and diabetes is that people sometimes don’t feel sick until it’s too late,” Vouyiouklis Kellis said.

Some simple changes in activity and diet can prevent diabetes, however.

“Losing 5 to 7 percent of body weight can significantly reduce your risk as well as making lifestyle changes, which include portion control, reducing foods with refined sugars and exercising regularly,” she added. “Exercising just 30 minutes a day, five days a week, can also help reduce this risk.”

Because it considers prediabetes one of the biggest public health crises in the United States, the CDC teamed up with the American Diabetes Association and the American Medical Association (AMA) to launch the new campaign.

Ads will be featured in English and Spanish. The campaign website offers lifestyle tips and links to the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program, which lists CDC-recognized programs nationwide. Also, text messaging is available for people who want to receive ongoing support and lifestyle tips.

Knowing you have prediabetes is just the first step in preventing type 2 diabetes, AMA President-Elect Dr. Andrew Gurman said in the CDC news release.

“As soon as someone discovers they may be at risk of prediabetes, they should talk with their physician about further testing to confirm their diagnosis and discuss the necessary lifestyle changes needed to help prevent type 2 diabetes,” Gurman said.

Roughly 29 million people in the United States — more than 9 percent of the U.S. population — have diabetes, mostly type 2, according to the CDC.

More information

Here’s where you can find the prediabetes risk test.

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Many Older Americans May Get Unneeded Breast, Prostate Cancer Screenings

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Many older Americans are unnecessarily screened for breast and prostate cancer, which can lead to treatments they don’t need, a new study contends.

The practice may also be costing the U.S. health care system $1.2 billion a year, the researchers added.

Almost 16 percent of those 65 and older are being screened for breast or prostate cancer even though they may have less than 10 years to live, the study found. A 10-year life expectancy is a benchmark for deciding whether to screen or not. And guidelines recommend against screening for these cancers in people with a life expectancy less than 10 years, the researchers said.

“Physicians, as well as patients, should consider life expectancy when deciding the necessity of prostate cancer or breast cancer screening,” said lead researcher Dr. Firas Abdollah, of the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit.

“To achieve this goal, we need to overcome many hurdles,” he said, which include the lack of easy-to-use and accurate life expectancy calculators to guide doctors in making screening recommendations.

Also, busy doctors may find it hard to explain the concept of life expectancy and why screening is not recommended for certain individuals, he added.

Robert Smith, vice president for cancer screening at the American Cancer Society, said: “This can be a hard conversation for doctors to have with patients. If a patient shows some enthusiasm for getting these tests, it’s just easier to do the test than it is to have that conversation, especially if you’re not that good at doing it.”

In addition, it’s difficult to estimate whether somebody has 10 years to live, Smith said.

The report was published online Jan. 21 in the journal JAMA Oncology.

Smith said that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends mammograms for women up to age 74. The task force does not recommend screening for prostate cancer at all, he said.

Using 10-year longevity as a benchmark for screening is the American Cancer Society’s guideline, Smith said.

“We recommend that men should not be offered prostate cancer screening if they don’t have 10 years of life left,” he said. “Our breast cancer guideline is the same.”

Abdollah said cancer screening aims to detect tumors early, before symptoms appear. “Evidence suggests that detection and treatment of early stage tumors may reduce cancer mortality among screened individuals,” he said.

Despite this benefit, screening may also cause harm, he said. Screening may identify low-risk tumors that would never become life-threatening, but subject patients to the harms of unnecessary treatment, such as side effects of therapy and a reduced quality of life, he added.

For the report, Abdollah and his colleagues collected data on nearly 150,000 people 65 and older who responded to the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System survey in 2012.

Among these people, 51 percent had had a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test or mammography in the past year. Of those who were screened, almost 31 percent had a life expectancy of less than 10 years. The rate of non-recommended screening was 15.7 percent, Abdollah said.

This rate varied across the country, from 11.6 percent in Colorado to just over 20 percent in Georgia, the researchers found. States with a high rate of non-recommended screening for prostate cancer also had a high rate of non-recommended screening for breast cancer.

Smith said the other side of the coin is that many doctors fail to recommend screening for patients who clearly have 10 years to live or more.

About one-third of women who die from breast cancer each year are over 70, Smith said. “That means there is a significant fraction of these deaths that could be avoided if women had been screened,” he said.

Smith added that many doctors aren’t aware of the tools available to predict longevity and many who are aware don’t use them. “Doctors need to be better prepared to estimate longevity, and have conversations with patients about cancer screening,” he said.

Smith did note that as patients get older they tend to lose interest in screening.

“There is a natural attrition as you get older — patients lose interest in prevention and doctors become preoccupied with managing life-limiting conditions,” he explained.

More information

Visit the American Cancer Society for more on cancer screening.

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