Just 8 percent of U.S. adults ages 35-plus receive all the high-priority preventive care their providers recommend for them, a study published in Health Affairs found.
The researchers used data from a federal self-administered questionnaire from January 2015 to May 2015 to analyze whether respondents received care for 15 preventive measures, including screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, various cancers and counseling for tobacco, obesity, alcohol use and depression.
Four study findings:
1. Out of 2,759 adults aged 35-plus who were eligible complete the questionnaire, 2,186 (roughly 79 percent) did.
2. The study revealed 5 percent of adults received none of the preventive care services.
3. Lack of insurance, lack of a usual source of care and wait times for care were frequently cited as reasons for not receiving preventive services.
4. Men were about twice as likely as women to receive 25 percent or fewer of the services (21.9 percent versus 11.3 percent). The study also found men were three times as likely as women to have received no recommended services.