Nearly 1 in 3 Women in Their 20s Have Never Had a Cervical Screening

According to recent research, nearly 32% of females in their 20s have never had a cervical screening. MoMo Productions · DigitalVision/Getty Recent research found that nearly 1 in 3 women ages 21 to 29 had never been screened for cervical cancer as of 2023, up from about 1 in 8 in 2005. Researchers also found disparities in never-screening based on factors including race and ethnicity, education, and insurance coverage. Regional- and distant-stage cervical cancer incidence each increased by more than 2% per year after 2017 among women ages 30 to 64. Nearly 1 in 3 women ages 21 to 29 had never undergone cervical cancer screening as of 2023, according to new research published in JAMA Network Open on August 27. The percentage of younger women who had never been screened rose from 12.5% in 2005 to 31.9% in 2023, with researchers also finding disparities based on factors such as race and ethnicity, education, and health insurance coverage. The findings are concerning because cervical cancer is largely preventable through human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and regular screening, which can detect precancerous changes before they develop into cancer. Cervical cancer screening rates d…

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