Colorectal cancer deaths rising among young adults without college degrees
Fox News • • health
Key Points:
- New research from the American Cancer Society reveals that colorectal cancer death rates are rising significantly among adults aged 25 to 49 without a college degree, while rates remain stable for college graduates.
- Mortality rates increased from 4.0 to 5.2 per 100,000 for those with a high school education or less, compared to a steady rate of about 2.7 per 100,000 for those with at least a bachelor's degree.
- The disparity is attributed to socioeconomic factors influencing risk behaviors such as obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, and diet, rather than any biological protection from education itself.
- Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in men under 50 and the second leading cause in women under 50, prompting the USPSTF to lower screening recommendations from age 50 to 45.
- Early symptoms include changes in bowel habits and blood in the stool, and early detection is critical since the disease is highly treatable when caught early; the study was published in JAMA Oncology.
