Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates at Federally Qualified Health Centers From 2014 to 2022: Incomplete Recovery From COVID-19 and Worsening Disparities.

INTRODUCTION: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) provide preventive health services such as colorectal cancer (CRC) screening to low-income and underinsured individuals. Overall CRC screening participation in the United States declined during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovered by 2021; however, trends in underresourced settings are unknown. METHODS: Using Uniform Data System data from 2014 to 2022, we assessed trends in FQHC CRC screening rates nationally, in California, and in Los Angeles County and determined clinic-level factors associated with recent screening rate changes. For each FQHC, we calculated the screening rate change from 2019 to 2020, 2020 to 2021, and 2020 to 2022. We used mixed-effects linear regression to determine clinic-level characteristics associated with each screening rate change. RESULTS: Across all FQHC (n = 1,281), 7,016,181 patients were eligible for CRC screening in 2022. Across the United States and in California, median screening rates increased from 2014 to 2019, severely declined in 2020, and failed to return to prepandemic levels by 2022. Both nationally and in California, CRC screening declined most dramatically from 2019 to 2020 in FQHC serving majority Hispanic/Latino patients or a high proportion of patients experiencing homelessness. From 2020 to 2022, screening rates did not recover completely in US FQHC, with disproportionate recovery among FQHC serving majority non-Hispanic Black patients. DISCUSSION: CRC screening rates at FQHC did not return to prepandemic levels by 2022, and recovery varied by FQHC patient characteristics. Tailored interventions addressing low and decreasing CRC screening rates in FQHC are urgently needed to mitigate worsening CRC disparities.

Microbiome Therapeutics for Food Allergy.

The prevalence of food allergies continues to rise, and with limited existing therapeutic options there is a growing need for new and innovative treatments. Food allergies are, in a large part, related to environmental influences on immune tolerance in early life, and represent a significant therapeutic challenge. An expanding body of evidence on molecular mechanisms in murine models and microbiome associations in humans have highlighted the critical role of gut dysbiosis in the pathogenesis of food allergies. As such, the gut microbiome is a rational target for novel strategies aimed at preventing and treating food allergies, and new methods of modifying the gastrointestinal microbiome to combat immune dysregulation represent promising avenues for translation to future clinical practice. In this review, we discuss the intersection between the gut microbiome and the development of food allergies, with particular focus on microbiome therapeutic strategies. These emerging microbiome approaches to food allergies are subject to continued investigation and include dietary interventions, pre- and probiotics, microbiota metabolism-based interventions, and targeted live biotherapeutics. This exciting frontier may reveal disease-modifying food allergy treatments, and deserves careful study through ongoing clinical trials.