21.11.12
Regular health checks can ‘do more harm than good’
Researchers have found that the universal health check for the over-40s does not help people to live longer, but can result in unnecessary stress and treatment.
The programme was introduced in the UK in 2009 in a move towards the NHS providing preventative care. People aged between 40 and 74 are invited to see their GP every five years to check blood pressure, weight and cholesterol.
The checks aim to give people tailored lifestyle advice, and help them change their behaviour if they have health risks. It can also offer patients the opportunity for earlier diagnosis and treatment. In 20011-12, 920,000 checks were carried out in the UK.
The Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen looked at 14 trials of health check programmes and found no consistent evidence that they improved health or reduced death rates.
Writing in the BMJ, they argue: “While we cannot be certain that general health checks lead to benefit, we know that all medical interventions can lead to harm.”
These potential harms included “overtreatment, distress or injury from invasive follow-up tests, distress due to false positive test results, false reassurance due to false negative test results”.
Additionally, people who turn up for health checks tend to have higher incomes and as a result are generally healthier. This means that the checks may not reach those who are most at risk.
They concluded: “Our results do not support the use of general health checks aimed at a general adult population outside the context of randomised trials.”
However the researchers sought to clarify that their conclusions “do not imply that physicians should stop clinically motivated testing and preventive activities”.
A Department of Health spokesperson said: “By spotting people who are at risk of heart attacks, diabetes, stroke and kidney disease we can help prevent them.
“The NHS Health Check programme is based on expert guidance. Everyone having a health check is offered tailored advice and support to manage or reduce their risk of developing serious health conditions.”
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