Rurality Partly Explains Racial Difference in Distance to Lung Cancer Screening
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Jan. 13, 2025 -- Differences in distance to lung cancer screening (LCS) facilities by race and ethnicity are partly explained by rurality, according to a study published online Jan. 14 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Solmaz Amiri, from the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State University in Seattle, and colleagues examined race-, ethnicity-, and rurality-based differences in distance to the nearest LCS facility in a cross-sectional ecological study involving 71,691 census tracts.
The researchers found that the geometric mean distance to the nearest LCS facility was 6.5 miles. The distance to the nearest LCS facility was 426 percent longer in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN)-majority census tracts and 7 to 39 percent shorter in Asian-, Black-, and Hispanic-majority census tracts compared with non-Hispanic White-majority census tracts. The mean distance in AI/AN-majority census tracts was reduced with adjustment for rurality, but the mean distance was still 3.16 times that seen in non-Hispanic White-majority census tracts. The observed advantage in Asian- and Black-majority census tracts was reduced with adjustment for rurality, and the direction of the association in Hispanic-majority tracts was changed.
"Future research documenting the extent to which equitable access to LCS facilities affects LCS uptake and lung cancer outcomes would be an important contribution to achieving cancer health care equity," the authors write.
Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted January 2025
Read this next
Pulmonary Embolism More Common in Children Than Previously Thought
THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Pulmonary embolism (PE) is more common in children than previously thought, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2025...
Half of Youth-Serving Clinicians Screen for Substance Use Disorder at Every Well Visit
THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Just over half of youth-serving clinicians report that they routinely screen adolescents for substance use disorders (SUDs) at every well visit...
Many Heart Failure Patients Do Not See a Cardiologist Annually
THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- About 40 percent of patients with heart failure diagnosis do not see a cardiologist annually, according to a study published online May 18 in the...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.