Older UK people ‘do not understand concept of overdiagnosis’

A new UK study has indicated a widespread lack of awareness of overdiagnosis among older people.

Almost 400 people aged between 50 and 70 took part in an online survey in which they were asked if they had seen or heard of the term overdiagnosis, as well being prompted to explain what they thought it meant.

Overdiagnosis occurs when signs of a disease is detected and treated unnecessarily, despite the fact that it would have never gone on to cause any harm during a person's lifetime.

It was found that 70 percent said they had not heard the term before, with only 2.6 percent of all those surveyed being able to correctly explain what the term meant.

Even among those who had heard of overdiagnosis before, less than eight per cent were able to accurately explain the term.

Lead author Dr Alex Ghanouni, research associate at Cancer Research UK's Health Behaviour Research Centre at University College London, said: "Overdiagnosis is a difficult concept to explain but a better understanding of how different cancers grow and develop will help us paint a clearer picture and give people better information."