WASHINGTON — People who are overweight or obese appear to take advantage of colorectal cancer screening opportunities at the same rate as normal-weight Americans.
Several studies have indicated that people with a higher body mass index (BMI) do not seek out screening for breast and colon cancer.
But Dr. Deborah A. Fisher, of Duke University, Durham, N.C., and Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and her colleagues determined that overweight and obese residents of North Carolina access fecal occult blood tests, flexible sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy at the same rate as those who are normal weight.
At the annual Digestive Disease Week, she presented an analysis of the North Carolina Colon Cancer Study, a case-control population-based study. The study used height and weight measurements to calculate BMI, but information about colon cancer screening was self-reported by patients.
The primary outcome was whether the patient was current for any colon cancer screening test, which included a fecal occult blood test in the past year, a colonoscopy within the past 10 years, a flexible sigmoidoscopy within the past 5 years, or a barium enema within the past 5 years.
Among the 928 patients, the average age was 67 years; 29% were normal weight (BMI 18–24.9 kg/m
Across all the BMI categories, the percentage of those who had undergone screening ranged from 54% to 67%, the authors said.
The overall screening rate of 61% was comparable to other populations that have been studied, she said. Thus, the differences in screening behavior between obese and normal-weight people seen with other cancers may not be true of colorectal cancers, she said.
Dr. Fisher suggested that the increased risk of colorectal cancer in obese people that has been documented in several studies “may be due to biology and not lower screening rates in this group.”
Dr. Fisher reported no disclosures. The study was supported by a National Institutes of Health grant.