Lower Breast, Cervical Cancer Screening Seen for Adults With Disabilities

MONDAY, Sept. 14, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Individuals with disabilities have a lower prevalence of breast and cervical cancer screening, according to a study published online Sept. 10 in Cancer.

Natalia Mazzitelli, M.P.H., from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues pooled data from the 2021 and 2023 National Health Interview Surveys to estimate the prevalence of self-reported breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening according to disability domains and difficulty levels.

Overall, 1,712, 1,147, and 3,106 sample respondents eligible for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening had disabilities, respectively; when population-weighted, this translated to 6.02, 5.10, and 11.17 million, respectively. The researchers found that the prevalence of breast and cervical cancer screening decreased with increasing difficulty level for self-care, vision, mobility, and cognition domains; the lowest receipt was seen for those reporting “substantial” versus “none” for self-care difficulties (adjusted prevalence ratios, 0.69 and 0.63 for breast and cervical, respectively). Lower screening was seen for cervical cancer, but not other screenings, in association with communication disability (adjusted prevalence ratio, 0.65 for “substantial” versus “none”). Higher stool testing for colorectal cancer was seen among adults with “substantial” mobility difficulties (adjusted prevalence ratio, 1.24 versus “none”) and “some” self-care, mobility, and vision difficulties compared with “none.”

“We have to break down the barriers stopping individuals with disabilities from getting cancer screening,” senior author Priti Bandi, Ph.D., also from the American Cancer Society, said in a statement. “At-home options like stool testing show enormous potential to bridge this gap, and we need to actively explore expanded self-sampling tools.”

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