(P24-069-23) USPSTF Research Gaps Highlight the Need for Researchers To Focus on Diverse Populations To Reduce Health Disparities

Objectives: The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) makes evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services. The USPSTF identifies research needs and gaps for each recommendation and issues an “Insufficient Evidence” ( I statement) when there is insufficient evidence to assess the balance of benefits and harms of a preventive service. This analysis reviews research needs and gaps in nutrition-focused USPSTF recommendations and I statements and identifies opportunities for future nutrition research to improve public health.

Methods: USPSTF nutrition-focused recommendations and I statements published between 2021-2022 were identified across three service types - screening, preventive medication, and counseling. Evidence gaps for each were reviewed regardless of their grade, and common themes were identified to guide future nutrition focused prevention research studies.

Results: Of the 18 recommendations and I statements the USPSTF released between 2021-2022, six addressed nutrition-related topics. Common research needs and gaps emerged across screening-related recommendations – such as the need to study variations in screening uptake by race, ethnicity, or sex. Across preventive medication recommendations, evidence gaps include heterogeneity across specific populations (by baseline nutrient level or socioeconomic factors) in racially and ethnically diverse populations. Similarly, among behavioral counseling intervention recommendations, evidence is needed in advanced maternal age populations, diverse populations such as non-Hispanic Black, Alaska Native/American Indian, and Hispanics, and in populations disproportionately affected by CVD.

Conclusions: The USPSTF seeks to inform delivery of clinical preventive services using evidence-based research. Future research must be focused on racial, ethnically diverse and economically disadvantaged populations and explore culturally tailored interventions to reduce health disparities and inequities. Addressing these gaps may provide evidence that allows the USPSTF to assess the balance of benefits and harms to make a more definitive recommendation for existing I statements – thereby shaping primary care delivery and healthcare insurance coverage for preventive care.

Funding Sources: National Institutes of Health/ Office of Disease Prevention