Too Old to Test

The next comment on excessive testing concerns unnecessary prostate and breast cancer screening in people who are 65 and older. Based on the current U.S. census, that would be about 40 million Americans.

Researchers used data from the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. This telephone survey is a minimum 190 questions and can be up to 410 questions. As the title suggests, it asks about all aspects of health from diet, exercise, previous conditions and diseases, and current conditions and diseases. The researchers were interested in the number of people 65 and older who responded to . . .

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