The article rightly mentions the low uptake rate among persons entitled to have colonoscopy screening. However, since this is more or less the same group of people who had a once-only screening examination in 2003–2010, the total proportion of participants among those entitled to be screened is rather higher. The exception is the group of those who, having reached the age of 55, are newly added to the pool of those entitled, minus those who have died.
I am no mathematician, but I would calculate a value of some 18%, rather than 2.6%, as reported. Reporting only the annual participation rate distorts the picture. Obviously, an even higher rate would be extremely desirable.
References
- 1.Brenner H, Altenhofen L, Hoffmeister M. Eight years of colonoscopic bowel cancer screening in Germany: Initial findings and projections. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2010;107(43):753–760. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2010.0753. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]