LAUSR

Key Points Question What consequences have the 2021 changes to the US Preventive Services Task Force screening guidelines for lung cancer had for the racial gap in lung cancer screening eligibility between Black and White community-dwelling adults? Findings In this cohort study of 14 285 Black and White adult participants in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study, after adjustment for individual characteristics and important social factors associated with health (eg, residential segregation), screening guideline changes were associated with a difference in lung cancer screening eligibility among Black and White individuals of −12.7 percentage points in 2013 and −12.2 percentage points in 2021. Meaning These findings suggest that although expansion of the lung cancer screening eligibility criteria was important to address racial differences in screening, without reform to policies with the explicit goal of eliminating structural factors such as residential segregation, changes in screening guidelines may only minimally improve existing racial gaps in eligibility.