Health check-ups not much useful – an Indian study
An Indian study published in National Medical Journal of India has revealed that routine health checks as done in urban India does not lead to improvement in community health.
It further goes on to say that an assessment of 25 health packages offered by eight clinics and hospitals in the Mumbai city showed that most tests don’t really have a bearing on the overall health of an individual.
India is a country where 1 in 20 has diabetes, every third adult has high blood pressure, and heart attacks occur at least 10 years before they do in the West.
Dr Yash Lokhandwala, the main author of the study says, ‘There is no rationale for performing tests such as vitamin D, vitamin B12, thyroid stimulating hormone, electrolytes, pulmonary function tests, among others.’
Some doctors, however, see health checks as a way to increase admissions.
There may be a cost associated with doing the checks and if all is ok, instead of being happy, blame that it was not necessary. There may be over-diagnosis and over-treatment, psychological distress due to false-positive test results, harm from invasive follow-up tests, and false reassurance due to false-negative test results.
Dr Sanjay Nagral, liver surgeon and editor of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, said patients often came to him seeking the removal of gall bladder. “They say a health check showed gallstones and they were advised to remove the stones or the gall bladder,” he said. “When I tell them that non-symptomatic stones should be left alone, many are not convinced.
