In 2011, 1.28 million colonoscopies were performed in France, including 6 out of 10 among the population aged 50-74. In total, over one year, the number of colonoscopies performed is 19 per 1,000 inhabitants, but it reaches 41.2 per 1,000 in the 50-74 age group. These figures have just been unveiled by the Health Insurance which wanted to draw up an inventory of the practice of colonoscopies in France.
Colon cancer: make the diagnosis before the symptoms
In France, more than 40,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed each year. In 2011, it was ranked 2nd for cancer mortality, in men and women, with 17,000 annual deaths recorded.
In fact, like many other cancers, colon cancer is an insidious disease that progresses silently. More common from the age of sixty, it only gives symptoms at an already advanced stage, hence the importance of screening through a colonoscopy.
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In France, colonoscopy has become much more common than in most countries in northern Europe, says Health Insurance: this examination is twice as frequent in France as in Sweden, Norway, Finland or the Netherlands. . And we are second only to Germany and Ireland. These good figures are also due to organized screening, generalized since 2008, which offers a colonoscopy every two years to all adults aged 50 to 74, or a target population of 16 million people. It is carried out in two stages: the search for occult blood in the stool followed by a colonoscopy in the event of a positive test. Thus, it is estimated that around 70,000 colonoscopies per year are induced by organized screening, ie 5.5% of all colonoscopies performed.
Colonoscopy: differences according to the departments
Health Insurance data reveal significant disparities depending on the department. Thus, 7 departments have a colonoscopy rate greater than 25 per 1,000 people: Alpes-Maritimes (27.7), Bas-Rhin (26.4), Paris (26.3), Haute-Corse (26.2) ,
Meuse (26.2), Bouches-du-Rhône (25.4), Corse-du-Sud (25.3).
Conversely, 7 departments, mainly rural, had a colonoscopy rate of less than 15 per 1000: Jura (11.6), Gers (11.9), Eure (12.4), Ain (12.4), Creuse (14.6), Haute-Marne (14.8), Yonne (14.9).