Growing 1M-plus patient population warrants radiology practices’ added attention
Radiology practices should design strategies to reach a growing population of 1 million-plus patients eligible for annual imaging, according to new research published Thursday.
Women are the fastest growing veteran segment across all military branches, and they may face unique risk factors for breast cancer related to their work. However, there is limited data about mammography utilization among vets, experts detailed in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
An analysis of 2019 national survey data from women ages 40-74 reveals potential opportunity for the specialty. Nearly 58% of veterans reported receiving screening mammography in the past year versus 55% of those outside the military. Veteran status was not associated with differences in screening uptake, nor was military health insurance.
“With more than 1 million female veterans and growing eligible for mammography screening in the United States, radiology practices should design proactive outreach strategies to address the needs of veterans who may face increased breast cancer risk due to military environmental exposures,” Arissa Milton, with the University of Wisconsin–School of Medicine and Public Health, and co-authors wrote April 24.
Researchers gathered their information from the National Health Interview Survey, administered by the federal government to track the health of the civilian population in the U.S. A total of nearly 9,000 women who responded to the survey met the inclusion criteria—being between the ages of 40 to 74 with no known history of breast cancer. Among the respondents, about 1.9% reported being veterans, which the authors extrapolated for a total U.S. female veteran population of 1,190,169. Stratified by vet status, 70.7% of female veterans reported undergoing screening mammography in the past two years versus 71.4% in the overall U.S. population.
“Although the results from our study demonstrate comparable mammography screening percentages, veterans may face additional risk factors for breast cancer due to occupational exposures warranting earlier and more aggressive screening,” the authors noted, pointing to a 2020 study, which found higher incidence of breast cancer among service members and especially those in their 40s and 50s.
Some of these factors could include exposure to volatile organic compounds during military occupation or contaminated groundwater. Issues around military environmental exposures led to passage of the Supporting Expanded Review for Veterans In Combat Environments (SERVICE) Act in 2022, the authors noted. The legislation recognized the need for tailored outreach and guidelines, along with expansion of breast cancer screening eligibility criteria for women who have served in certain combat locations.
“Future studies should evaluate the impact of revised [U.S. Preventive Services Task Force] guidelines on screening percentages among veterans and how each military branch has implemented these changes into their screening guidelines,” Milton and co-authors wrote.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.