Preventive health appointments are associated with both a reduced risk of death and a reduced risk of developing diseases such as dementia and cirrhosis of the liver, finds research published in the journal BMC Medicine.
The research sample
The research focuses on the NHS Health Check program for 40-74 year olds, which is offered free of charge in Britain, however, it is emphasized that other similar preventive programs can be effective in reducing a population’s overall risk of long-term disease.
The research data
Researchers used data from 97,204 participants in the UK Biobank medical database to explore the associations between attending a health check-up appointment and the risk of death or future diagnosis of 14 different conditions.
More than 48,500 participants attended an appointment between January 2008 and June 2016, and each participant was matched with another who did not attend an appointment but had similar demographics and health behaviors. Health records were followed over nine years.
The researchers found that those who had a health screening had significantly lower rates of diagnosis for various diseases, including a 19% lower rate of diagnosis of dementia, a 23% lower rate of diagnosis of acute kidney injury and a 44% lower rate of diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver. They also had a 23% lower risk of dying from any cause.
Source: APE – MEB
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