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New research found women aged 21-65 years who were due for a Papanicolaou (Pap) test to screen for cervical cancer were about 30% less likely in 2022 to report having received one in the past year than women were in 2019. The likelihood of Pap testing in the past year did not differ between 2019 and 2020, during the early part of the pandemic.

The study, published on June 14 in JAMA Network Open, also found in 2022 that weighted rates of past-year Pap testing were significantly lower among women living in rural areas than for urban residents, although that difference was not observed after controlling for sociodemographic factors including age, race, ethnicity, and whether a woman had insurance.

"Cervical cancer is largely preventable by early detection," said Ty Borders, PhD, director of the Rural and Underserved Health Research Center at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, who led the new study. "And what is a concern is that these reductions in Pap testing rates are substantial enough that unless women go get a Pap test or other type of cervical cancer screening sooner than later than we could see a slight uptick or increase in the rates of cervical cancer in the years to come." Head over to Medscape to read the full story.