THURSDAY, Aug. 3, 2023 (HealthDay News) — People with mental disorders are less likely to participate in colorectal cancer screening versus those without these disorders, according to a study published in the July issue of The Lancet Psychiatry.

Mette Kielsholm Thomsen, Ph.D., from Aarhus University in Denmark, and colleagues evaluated the extent to which people with mental disorders participate in organized colorectal cancer screening. The analysis included Danish national data for 2.04 million residents aged 50 to 74 years who were invited to undergo biennial fecal immunochemical testing between March 1, 2014, and Sept. 30, 2018.

The researchers found that compared with people with no mental disorders, lower participation was seen among people with mild or moderate mental disorders (men: participation difference, –4.4 percentage points; women: –3.8 percentage points) and severe mental disorders (men: participation difference, –13.8 percentage points; women: –15.4 percentage points). Furthermore, people with mental disorders had a higher proportion of positive fecal immunochemical test results, lower adherence to colonoscopy, and more incomplete colonoscopies versus people without mental disorders.

“Patients with mental disorders could benefit from support or encouragement from their general practitioner or mental health-care facility to participate in cancer screening,” the authors write. “Potential interventions should consider type of mental disorder, as needs might differ.”

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