TUESDAY, Oct. 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Fecal immunochemical test (FIT) completion and yield rates are similar in people aged 45 to 49 years and those aged 50 years, according to a study published online Oct. 22 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Theodore R. Levin, M.D., from Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland, and colleagues examined FIT completion and yield in patients aged 45 to 49 years versus 50 years in a retrospective cohort study conducted in Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Washington, and Colorado.

Overall, 267,732 FIT kits were distributed: 79.9 and 20.1 percent to patients aged 45 to 49 years and aged 50 years, respectively. The researchers found that FIT completion was slightly higher in patients aged 45 to 49 years (adjusted risk ratio, 1.05), but was lower in those aged 45 to 49 years in Colorado (adjusted risk ratio, 0.77). Lower FIT positivity was seen in patients aged 45 to 49 years (adjusted relative risk, 0.91), while the groups had similar receipt of colonoscopy after a positive FIT result (64.9 versus 67.4 percent). Among patients who completed a follow-up colonoscopy, the younger age group had lower adenoma detection (adjusted relative risk, 0.88). Similar yields were seen for adenoma with advanced histology, polyp with high-grade dysplasia, sessile serrated lesion, and colorectal cancer (CRC).

“These findings support recent guideline recommendations to initiate CRC screening at age 45 years and can inform efforts to implement earlier FIT-based CRC screening,” the authors write.

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