• Zahava Berkowitz, Jun Li, Thomas B Richards, and Pamela M Marcus.
• Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia. Electronic address: zab3@cdc.gov.
• Am J Prev Med. 2017 Dec 1; 53 (6): 909913909-913.

IntroductionRecommendations for prostate-specific antigen-based screening for prostate cancer are placing increasing emphasis on men aged 55-69 years. The goal of the current study is to describe patterns of population-based prostate-specific antigen testing with details about that age group.MethodsNational Health Interview Surveys from 2005 to 2015 were analyzed in 2017 to estimate routine prostate-specific antigen testing in the past year from self-reported data by age group (40-54, 55-69, ≥70 years), and also by risk group, defined as African American men or men with a family history of prostate cancer versus other men. Differences between successive survey years by age and risk groups were assessed by predicted margins and rate ratios with 99% CIs, using logistic regressions.ResultsProstate-specific antigen testing among men aged 55-69 years decreased from a high of 43.1% (95% CI=40.3, 46.1) in 2008 to a low of 32.8% (95% CI=30.8, 34.7) in 2013, with no significant change in 2015 at 33.8% (95% CI=31.3, 36.4). Men aged ≥70 years had consistently high prevalence in all survey years, ranging from 51.1% in 2008 to 36.4% in 2015. African American men, men with a family history of prostate cancer, and other men showed a 5% absolute decrease over time, but this reduction was significant only in other men.ConclusionsDespite decreases, the absolute change in prostate-specific antigen testing for men aged 55-69 years was small (9.3%) over the study period. Men aged ≥70 years, for whom the benefits are unlikely to exceed the harms, continue to have consistently high testing prevalence.Published by Elsevier Inc.

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