WELL & GOOD
HOW BENEFICIAL IS AN ANNUAL PHYSICAL EXAMINATION? NOT PARTICULARLY, ACCORDING TO MANY STUDIES INTO THE EFFECTS OF YEARLY CHECK-UPS. BUT KEEPING ON TOP OF ROUTINE PERSONAL-HEALTH MATTERS CAN HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
How beneficial is a yearly health check- up? Not particularly, says Rosemarie White
IN THE PAST, MEDICAL groups have advised patients or clients to have an annual health check. Most health checks are designed to look for risk factors or early signs of diseases in people without symptoms - so any that could help early detection are surely a good thing? Maybe not.
This advice has been largely ignored by New Zealanders embarrassed at visiting an overworked GP for no immediate reason. The description of “the worried well” deterred others who theoretically accepted the idea of prevention being better than cure but couldn’t quite get themselves to the doctor’s surgery without acute illness. This national reluctance to have an annual check-up has now been approved by a * Cochrane review, in which the data from 17 randomized trials of 251,891 participants found the yearly check-up is of doubtful benefit and may lead to unnecessary tests and treatment. The study also found “high certainty” of evidence that giving healthy adults tests such as blood pressure, cholesterol, ECG and screens for various cancers does not improve outcomes.
EVERYDAY MEASURES. For people with existing conditions, doctors and other providers can help stave off worse health with medications, surgery and other treatments. However, in the absence of any existing conditions, a significant and beneficial impact on one’s health comes from attending to small matters oneself.
HAVE TEETH CHECKED. Regular checkups can help spot small dental issues before they become big ones. Inflammation has been implicated in many diseases – most worryingly Alzheimer’s – and poor dental hygiene can add to the inflammation load on your body from common conditions like gingivitis, or reversible plaque- induced inflammation.
SET A SLEEP SCHEDULE. A recent sleep study has concluded that more than one-third of New Zealanders aren’t getting enough sleep, which can lead to health issues.
GET A FLU SHOT. Each year between 10 and 20 per cent of New Zealanders suffer a bout of the flu. Influenza can be serious.
TRY A MEATLESS MONDAY. On average, New Zealanders eat more than 70 kilogrammes of meat every year each, three times the world average. Reducing meat consumption can help reduce the risk of chronic preventable conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. (For more on a healthy diet, see Blue sky thinking, page 44.) BOOK AN EYE EXAMINATION to head off preventable vision loss. Age-related eye diseases, such as macular degeneration, are a leading cause of vision loss. Glaucoma is a silent, progressive disease that causes damage to the optic nerve and can lead to blindness. Eye checks can detect both these conditions before any severe damage occurs.