Elderly people with a positive test of the national colon cancer screening program in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County

Introduction and objective : Three-day home stool testing for invisible blood (test) for healthy, asymptomatic people of both sexes is performed every two years at the invitation of the National Colon Cancer Screening (NCCSP) in Croatia since 2008. The aim of the paper is to present the characteristics of elderly with a positive test result for the Dubrovnik-Nereva County (DNC) at the age of 65 - 74 years as part of the 3rd - 5th calling cycle. Methods : We used data from the NCCSP IT solution and survey questionnaire that people submitted with test samples in the period April 4th 2016 until May 26th 2023 for the analyzed cycles, processed by descriptive statistical method. Results : The results are shown collectively for all observed cycles, according to gender, for 603 people (326 men and 277 women) with a positive test (7.1% of men and 5.1% of women among those tested). Respondents mostly live in a married or cohabiting union (77.0% of men, 59.9% of women), have a secondary education (47.5% of men and 44.4% of women). According to the body mass index (BMI), most men have increased body mass, 47.5% (39.4% of women). The obese category, BMI > 40, was recorded in 0.9% of men and 1.1% of women. The hereditary component of