Prevalence of a First-Degree Relative With Colorectal Cancer and Uptake of Screening Among Persons 40 to 54 Years Old.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: People with a first-degree relative with colorectal cancer (CRC) are recommended to start CRC screening at age 40. However, there is limited information on how many people in different age groups have a known family history of CRC and how many of them have had a colonoscopy. METHODS: We set up a multicenter, cross-sectional, population-based study in Germany to determine what proportions of persons in age groups from 40 to 54 years old have a known family history of CRC. We invited 160,000 persons to participate in an online survey from 2015 through 2016. We investigated what proportions of persons in each age group reported a family history of CRC and what proportions of persons underwent a colonoscopy examination using descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression models. RESULTS: Of 28,711 responders to the online questionnaire (8428 were age 40-44 years, 9879 were age 45-49 years, and 10,404 were age 50-54 years), 2705 stated that they had a first-degree relative with CRC (9.4%). The prevalence of a first-degree relative with CRC increased with age: 7.5%, 9.6%, and 10.9% for people 40 to 44 years old, 45 to 49 years old, and 50 to 54 years old, respectively. The prevalence of a first-degree relative who received a diagnosis of CRC at age 70 years or older increased steadily with each age group. Although a greater proportion of people with a family history of CRC had undergone a colonoscopy examination (54.5%) than people without a family history of CRC (25.7%; P < .0001), large proportions of people within this risk group were not in compliance with the guidelines (54.8%, 47.6%, and 38.6% for ages 40-44 y, 45-49 y, and 50-54 y, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: One in 10 persons in Germany age 40 to 54 years old has a first-degree relative with CRC. Guidelines recommend initiation of screening at ages 40 to 45 years for people with a family history, yet at this age many people do not have a family history of CRC yet, and almost half of persons 40 to 54 years old with a family history of CRC have not yet received a screening colonoscopy.

A Web-based survey among adults aged 40-54 years was time effective and yielded stable response patterns.

OBJECTIVE: We want to present information about response patterns obtained by Web-based survey in a large-scale epidemiological study. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Within the RAPS (Risk Adapted Prevention Strategies for colorectal cancer [CRC]) study, we invited 160,000 randomly selected persons aged 40-54 years in three large German cities from 2015 to 2016 to complete a Web-based questionnaire on CRC risk factors and screening (97 items, average time for completion 15 minutes). Invitation letters and up to two reminder letters were sent to each individual. RESULTS: A total of 21.4% of women and 18.0% of men completed the questionnaire. Overall cumulative response rates were 7.5%, 14.3%, and 19.6% after the initial invitation letter, and the first and second reminder, respectively, with prevalence of and associations of key epidemiological parameters (such as family history of cancer, previous colonoscopy, etc.) being remarkably stable across waves of responses. For example, the sex and age distribution of the sample did not change with additional answers gained from additional letters. CONCLUSION: Web-based questionnaires are feasible, cost-effective, and time effective in the setting of large-scale epidemiological studies. Although response patterns were remarkably stable over several rounds of reminders with substantially increasing cumulative response rates, future research should address possibilities to further enhance response rates.