Use of cancer-screening services among persons with serious mental illness in Sacramento County.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined the use of breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancer-screening services by persons with serious mental illness enrolled in the Sacramento County Mental Health clinics.


METHODS
Of 387 outpatients approached from January 2005 to May 2007, 229 were interviewed.


RESULTS
Whereas 97% of the women had received cervical cancer screening at least once in their lifetime, more than 50% of eligible persons over age 50 had never received colorectal cancer screening. Recent use of screening services was highest for cervical cancer (69% had had a Pap test in the past three years) and lowest for colorectal cancer (12% had had a fecal occult blood stool test in the past year or a flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy in the past five years).


CONCLUSIONS
Among persons with serious mental illness, lifetime screening of cervical cancer was higher than for breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers. Receipt of routine, timely cancer screening was low, especially for colorectal cancer.
Xiong
Glen L
GL
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, 2230 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. gxiong@ucdavis.edu
Bermudes
Richard A
RA
Torres
Serina N
SN
Hales
Robert E
RE
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001523:Mental Disorders; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index