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Burden of Chronic Disease

• By Disease and Risk Factor
• By State



The Burden of Chronic Diseases and Their Risk Factors: National and State Perspectives 2002

Section III
Risk Factors and Use of Preventive Services, United States

  




Lack of Sigmoidoscopy or Colonoscopy

Recommended every 5 years for persons aged 50 years or older, sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy are used as screening tools both for preventing cancer by detecting precancerous polyps and for detecting colorectal cancer early, when treatment is most effective. Studies have found that people who had had a sigmoidoscopy had 59% fewer deaths from colorectal cancers within reach of a sigmoidscope than people who had not had a sigmoidoscopy. Despite its proven effectiveness, colorectal cancer screening is used far less than screening for other cancers.

  • In 2000, 66% of Americans aged 50 years or older reported not having had a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy within the last 5 years.
  • The percentage of Americans aged 50 years or older who reported not having had a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy during the past 5 years ranged from 54% in Delaware to 77% in Nebraska.

Percentage of Adults Aged 50 Years or Older Who Reported Not Having Had a Sigmoidoscopy or Colonoscopy in the Last 5 years, 1999

Percentage of Adults Aged 50 Years or Older Who Reported Not Having Had a Sigmoidoscopy or Colonoscopy in the Last 5 years, 1999. Data in tabular format follows.

Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

  



 

Percentage of Adults Aged 50 Years or Older Who Reported Not Having Had a Sigmoidoscopy or Colonoscopy in the Last 5 years, by State Rank, 1999

Rank State Percent
1 Nebraska 77.4
2 Kentucky 74.3
3 West Virginia 73.8
4 Missouri 73.4
5 Nevada 72.0
6 Oklahoma 71.8
7 Mississippi 71.6
8 Louisiana 71.1
9 Kansas 71.0
10 Arkansas 70.5
11 Idaho 70.3
12 Tennessee 70.2
13 Alabama 70.1
14 Montana 69.6
15 North Dakota 69.6
16 Arizona 69.5
17 Pennsylvania 69.4
18 North Carolina 69.0
19 Maine 69.0
20 Colorado 69.0
21 Iowa 68.8
22 Utah 68.6
23 Indiana 68.4
24 South Carolina 67.9
25 Vermont 67.9
26 South Dakota 67.7
27 New Mexico 67.6
28 Texas 67.4
29 Ohio 67.4
30 Oregon 66.7
31 Wyoming 66.0
32 Illinois 65.9
33 Virginia 65.6
34 Florida 65.2
35 New York 65.1
36 Massachusetts 65.0
37 New Jersey 64.7
38 Hawaii 64.6
39 Alaska 64.5
40 Georgia 64.4
41 Wisconsin 63.8
42 Minnesota 63.5
43 Washington 63.0
44 New Hampshire 62.4
45 California 61.7
46 Connecticut 61.0
47 Rhode Island 60.6
48 Michigan 60.1
49 Maryland 59.3
50 District of Columbia 57.4
51 Delaware 53.8
  Median 67.7

Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

  


 

Percentage of Adults Aged 50 Years or Older Who Reported Not Having Had a Sigmoidoscopy or Colonoscopy in the Last 5 years, by Sex, Race, and Ethnicity, 1999

State Total Male Female White Black* Asian/Pacific Islander* American Indian/ Alaska Native* Hispanic*
Alabama 70.1 67.2 72.4 70.4 67.7 - - -
Alaska 64.5 61.9 67.3 63.8 - - 65.7 -
Arizona 69.5 67.5 71.0 69.3 - - - 72.6
Arkansas 70.5 68.5 72.1 69.6 79.6 - - -
California 61.7 55.9 66.9 59.4 61.9 70.3 - 66.8
Colorado 69.0 64.5 72.8 69.1 - - - 72.4
Connecticut 61.0 57.8 63.3 61.1 55.7 - - 61.3
Delaware 53.8 48.4 58.1 52.5 60.8 - - -
District of Columbia 57.4 47.9 64.5 53.6 59.5 - - -
Florida 65.2 63.6 66.6 63.3 66.9 - - 77.3
Georgia 64.4 60.0 68.0 63.9 69.6 - - -
Hawaii 64.6 62.6 66.4 66.8 - 63.3 61.8 68.7
Idaho 70.3 68.1 72.2 70.1 - - - -
Illinois 65.9 66.5 65.3 66.7 61.7 - - -
Indiana 68.4 63.5 72.4 68.6 70.7 - - -
Iowa 68.8 69.0 68.7 68.8 - - - -
Kansas 71.0 69.6 72.2 70.7 79.3 - - -
Kentucky 74.3 74.3 74.4 74.8 64.0 - - -
Louisiana 71.1 66.5 74.6 71.6 70.6 - - -
Maine 69.0 68.8 69.1 69.0 - - - -
Maryland 59.3 54.9 63.0 58.0 60.1 - - -
Massachusetts 65.0 61.8 67.5 64.5 72.6 - - 65.0
Michigan 60.1 51.0 67.2 59.6 65.2 - - -
Minnesota 63.5 62.2 64.7 63.6 - - - -
Mississippi 71.6 71.3 71.9 71.5 72.9 - - -
Missouri 73.4 73.8 73.1 73.3 74.2 - - -
Montana 69.6 67.5 71.4 69.0 - - - -
Nebraska 77.4 75.5 78.9 77.2 - - - -
Nevada 72.0 69.8 73.9 70.9 - - - 70.8
New Hampshire 62.4 53.5 69.6 62.5 - - - -
New Jersey 64.7 58.0 69.9 62.0 74.8 - - 75.1
New Mexico 67.6 64.5 70.0 65.7 - - - 69.8
New York 65.1 61.1 68.3 63.5 73.8 - - 71.9
North Carolina 69.0 67.4 70.3 68.6 70.9 - - -
North Dakota 69.6 67.5 71.3 69.6 - - - -
Ohio 67.4 65.8 68.6 67.8 63.4 - - -
Oklahoma 71.8 69.3 73.7 71.6 72.0 - 75.6 -
Oregon 66.7 68.1 65.6 66.1 - - - -
Pennsylvania 69.4 65.9 72.1 69.8 66.8 - - -
Rhode Island 60.6 56.5 63.7 60.5 - - - -
South Carolina 67.9 65.7 69.7 67.2 68.9 - - -
South Dakota 67.7 66.6 68.6 67.2 - - 74.4 -
Tennessee 70.2 68.7 71.4 69.3 81.3 - - -
Texas 67.4 62.5 71.5 66.4 59.0 - - 72.9
Utah 68.6 66.9 70.1 68.8 - - - -
Vermont 67.9 66.0 69.5 67.6 - - - -
Virginia 65.6 61.6 69.1 66.4 66.1 - - -
Washington 63.0 58.2 67.0 62.8 - - - -
West Virginia 73.8 71.2 75.8 73.8 - - - -
Wisconsin 63.8 57.8 68.8 63.7 - - - -
Wyoming 66.0 58.0 73.3 65.9 - - - -
United States 66.3 62.7 69.2 65.8 67.5 69.2 63.8 70.5

*A dash indicates that the sample had too few respondents (fewer than 50) in this category to calculate a stable estimate. 
Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

 

  



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This page last reviewed August 10, 2004

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