Last October, we covered a meta-analysis giving all of us who hate those routine physical exams a good excuse to skip it. The analysis, which looked at 16 clinical trials involving 182,880 patients, revealed that patients who had annual general health checkups died at virtually the same rate as those who didn t.
This week, New York Times writer Jane Brody wrote an informative column reminding us of the ongoing debate as to whether regular checkups really reduce the chances of becoming seriously ill or dying of an illness that would have been treatable had it been detected sooner.
No one questions the importance of regular exams for well babies, children and pregnant women, and the protective value of specific exams, like a Pap smear for sexually active women and a colonoscopy for people over 50. But arguments against the annual physical for all adults have been fueled by a growing number of studies that failed to find a medical benefit.
Some experts note that when something seemingly abnormal is picked up during a routine exam, the result is psychological distress for the patient, further testing that may do more harm than good, and increased medical expenses.
ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross would advise readers that some prevention, or earlier detection, is warranted, including blood pressure checks, cholesterol assays, and full-body skin evaluations for dangerous pigmented lesions.
Read Ms. Brody s piece in its entirety here.