Subjecting anyone to a battery of tests without a reasoned and targeted path, previously agreed with the family doctor, does not make sense. Indeed, it can become harmful
A check from head to toe, in which to measure blood pressure and cholesterol but also do an eye and hearing test, ultrasound scans, perhaps an electrocardiogram and so on and so forth: those who want to undergo a complete check-up can choose among several all-inclusive packages or contact your family doctor to have the exams prescribed, you are spoiled for choice. But the question is whether all this, which can cost quite a bit in terms of time and money, is really needed to secure one’s health.
Effects in chiaroscuro
Judging from a recent review of studies on the subject, published in the journal Jama by researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago, the effects of generic check-ups performed on a regular basis are in chiaroscuro: they do not seem to affect mortality and cardiovascular events, but they can have positive consequences on the early diagnosis and timely treatment of chronic diseases as well as on lifestyle, because for example those who find themselves with high cholesterol have a tangible reason to start exercise.
agree Nicola MontanoProfessor of Internal Medicine at the University of Milan – Irccs Ca ‘Granda Foundation Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, who adds: An indiscriminate carpet check-up is not useful because it does not answer a real clinical question. In a young and healthy person, with good habits of life and without specific reasons for apprehension, for example a familiarity with certain pathologies, it can only be a waste of resources; in a fifty-year-old who is equally healthy but who has never done tests, however, it can be built, by collecting information on cholesterol and glycaemia, by referring to a screening such as occult blood in the faeces. It doesn’t have to be a generic check-up that subjects anyone to a slew of tests that “are not denied to anyone“, But a reasoned and targeted path, developed by evaluating one’s situation together with the doctor.
Also the frequency with which to repeat the tests must be decided on measure
Also the time interval after which to repeat any tests it must be decided on the basis of the characteristics of each one, as well as the specific check-ups to which people at risk must undergo, for example due to a familiarity for specific pathologies. The family doctor, who knows the patient, the right person to decide which tests to do and when, specifies Montano. If the check-ups are carried out with these premises they are useful, otherwise they can also be risky. Whenever we undergo any test we expose ourselves to the likelihood of embarking on complex diagnostic paths that can lead to stress, fear and even unnecessary costs.
But cancer screenings are essential
The check-up must be targeted, it cannot include carpet exams; however, as US researchers write in Jama, a basic awareness of one’s state of health necessary. In other words, not everyone has to carry out a battery of indiscriminate tests every year, but everyone must know their cholesterol levels, blood sugar, blood pressure and heart rate by double checking them at a periodicity indicated by the family doctormore or less close according to the overall risk profile: a good habit which, according to the results of the overseas survey, also motivates to maintain a better lifestyle, following a healthier diet and doing more exercise than those he does not know his state of health.
Talk to your doctor
The periodic interview with the doctor, then, is used to check whether you should not undergo specific vaccines or boosters, such as tetanus or flu, and monitor the results of any screening tests
. Those for tumors, from occult blood in faeces to mammography, are an essential health tool because they are not generic like check-ups, but aimed at specific populations where the risk of disease is highest (such as those over 50 in the case of occult blood, women over 45 for mammograms and so on, ndr), specifies Nicola Montano. A regular evaluation of the state of health by the family doctor is indispensable in elderly peoplein those who already suffer from chronic diseases or in those who follow complex therapies.
September 28, 2022 (change September 28, 2022 | 18:24)
© Time.News