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Review finds no benefit from routine general health checks
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Carrying out general health checks does not appear to reduce overall mortality or mortality related to CVD and cancer, according to results of a recent review.
Researchers analyzed data collected from 14 randomized trials that compared adults who were offered general health checks with adults who were not offered the checks. In all, there were 182,880 participants.
The trials reported various results. In one trial, health checks led to more diagnoses of all kinds. In another, adults who were offered general health checks were more likely to be diagnosed with high BP or high cholesterol. In three trials, large numbers of abnormalities were identified in the screened groups, according to a press release.
However, based on nine trials involving 155,899 participants and 11,940 deaths, the researchers concluded that between these two groups, there was no difference in the number of deaths, overall and related to CVD or cancer. Other outcomes were poorly studied, but suggested that offering general health checks has no impact on hospital admissions, disability, worry, specialist referrals, additional visits to doctors or time off of work, according to the release.
“From the evidence we’ve seen, inviting patients to general health checks is unlikely to be beneficial,” Lasse T. Krogsbøll, PhD student from the Nordic Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, stated in the release. “One reason for this might be that doctors identify additional problems and take action when they see patients for other reasons.”
The researchers advised against including general health checks as part of a public health program in order to avoid overdiagnosis, adverse psychological and behavioral effects, complications related to follow-up investigations and unnecessary treatments related to overdiagnosis, according to the review.
“[We’re not saying] that doctors should stop carrying out tests or offering treatment when they suspect there may be a problem. But we do think that public health care initiatives that are systematically offering general health checks should be resisted,” the researchers stated in a press release.
According to the researchers, new studies should focus on individual components of health checks, such as screening for CVD risk factors, pulmonary disease, diabetes, and kidney disease, and should explore harmful effects of general health checks that could result in misleading conclusions.
Disclosure: Krogsbøll and colleagues report no relevant financial disclosures.
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