Table. Characteristics of Veterans Who Accepted or Declined LCS After a Decision-Making Conversation With Their Practitioner.
| Characteristic | Veterans (N = 43 257)a | |
|---|---|---|
| Accepted LCS (n = 29 411) | Declined LCS (n = 13 846) | |
| Individual level | ||
| Age, mean (SD), y | 64.2 (5.7) | 65.8 (5.9) |
| Sex | ||
| Female | 1268 (4.3) | 493 (3.6) |
| Male | 28 143 (95.7) | 13 353 (96.4) |
| Race and ethnicity | ||
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 240 (0.82) | 106 (0.77) |
| Asian | 54 (0.18) | 33 (0.24) |
| Black | 4037 (13.7) | 1536 (11.1) |
| Hispanic | 92 (0.31) | 22 (0.16) |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | 172 (0.58) | 64 (0.46) |
| White | 24 498 (83.3) | 11 928 (86.2) |
| Otherb | 26 (0.09) | 16 (0.12) |
| Unknown | 292 (0.99) | 141 (1.02) |
| Married | 13 004 (44.2) | 6619 (47.8) |
| Zip code–level income, median (IQR), $ | 48 757 (39 081-61 759) | 49 214 (40 051-61 794) |
| Live in a rural zip code | 10 505 (35.7) | 5522 (39.9) |
| Distance to a VHA facility conducting clinical reminders, median (IQR), mi | 25.6 (10.1-61.7) | 31.0 (13.6-68.9) |
| VHA benefits (priority status) | ||
| High disability with no co-payments | 8881 (30.2) | 3815 (27.6) |
| Low or moderate disability with partial co-payments | 7124 (24.2) | 3261 (23.6) |
| Limited disability with full co-payments | 4483 (15.2) | 2592 (18.7) |
| Poverty with no co-payments | 8923 (30.3) | 4177 (30.2) |
| Comorbid conditions | ||
| Currently smoking | 21 304 (72.4) | 9855 (71.2) |
| History of major adverse cardiac event | 3186 (10.8) | 1475 (10.7) |
| Congestive heart failure | 2067 (7.0) | 1221 (8.8) |
| Stroke | 1186 (4.0) | 685 (4.9) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 8652 (29.4) | 4135 (29.9) |
| Interstitial lung disease | 444 (1.5) | 255 (1.8) |
| HIV infection | 1128 (3.8) | 384 (2.8) |
| Dementia | 775 (2.6) | 388 (2.8) |
| Depression | 7749 (26.3) | 2830 (20.4) |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder | 4684 (15.9) | 1827 (13.2) |
| Substance use disorder | 7382 (25.1) | 2822 (20.4) |
| Schizophrenia | 740 (2.5) | 397 (2.9) |
| Elixhauser Comorbidity Index score, mean (SD) | 4.2 (3.2) | 4.2 (3.3) |
| Health care utilization in the year before index date | ||
| Outpatient visits, median (IQR), No. | 11 (5-22) | 7 (3-16) |
| Emergency department visits, median (IQR), No. | 0 (0-1) | 0 (0-0) |
| Inpatient length of stay, median (IQR), d | 0 (0-0) | 0 (0-0) |
| Long-term care facility length of stay, median (IQR), d | 0 (0-0) | 0 (0-0) |
| Facility level | ||
| US Census region | ||
| Northeast | 7295 (24.8) | 3580 (25.9) |
| Midwest | 7195 (24.5) | 2256 (16.3) |
| South | 11 135 (37.9) | 5421 (39.2) |
| West | 3786 (12.9) | 2589 (18.7) |
| LCS volumec | ||
| Low | 2129 (7.2) | 1139 (8.2) |
| Medium | 8984 (30.5) | 5654 (40.7) |
| High | 18 298 (62.2) | 7053 (50.9) |
Abbreviations: LCS, lung cancer screening; VHA, Veterans Health Administration.
a
Data are presented as the number (percentage) of participants unless otherwise indicated.
b
Other included individuals who reported “other” race or ethnicity.
c
Defined as the number of lung cancer screenings performed between 2015 and 2021. Low was defined as less than 1000 screenings, medium as 1000 to 3000 screenings, and high as more than 3000 screenings.