Commission on Chronic Illness Follow-up Study

The effectiveness of multiphasic screening programs to reduce morbidity and mortality in a community has not been established. Newer automated techniques have made it possible to screen large segments of the population rapidly and at relatively low cost. Risk factors for many diseases have been clearly delineated, and methods for changing many of the risk factors are available. The crucial test as to whether changing the risk factor will modify the natural history of the disease has generally not been provided. A 12-year-follow-up study showed that a higher percentage of upper social class individuals were screened, and there appeared to be a slightly lower death rate for screenees as compared to nonscreenees especially for women and in the younger age groups (40 to, 49). Surviving screenees and nonscreenees reinterviewed in 1967 were similar.