Many people only visit the doctor when they are not feeling well or when they have a disease. They are therefore unaware of the fact that many diseases can exist in our body and develop for years before they give a symptom.
The only way to diagnose these diseases in time is the pre-symptomatic test, ie the tests that a person undergoes at regular intervals before he shows symptoms, preventively to avoid diseases.
There are two goals of pre-screening:
1. to identify some risk factors which if left untreated will lead to the occurrence of diseases
2. to diagnose a disease at an early stage, when it is treatable
This is a very important part of medical care that Hippocrates had first pointed out: “they do not provide and prevent it, they cure it”.
Most deaths before the age of 80 are caused by preventable diseases. Unfortunately, the daily stress, but also the feeling that we are healthy and invulnerable make us neglect to perform the pre-symptomatic control with disastrous results.
The test differs depending on the age, gender and the overall individual and hereditary history of each patient. During the test, the lifestyle (eg diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol, drugs, sexual behavior, family history, existence of diseases) is evaluated and appropriate instructions are given. Physical examination, measurement of blood pressure, waist circumference, weight and height are performed. Hematological and other tests are performed, which vary depending on the profile of each person.
Some examples of the benefits of pre-screening:
Cardiovascular diseases (heart attack, stroke, etc.) are the leading cause of death on the planet. Hypertension and hypercholesterolemia are two classic examples of risk factors for cardiovascular disease that have no symptoms. The only way to diagnose and treat it early is through pre-symptomatic screening. Early detection of diabetes is just as important.
Regular Pap test (Pap test) in women reduces cervical cancer mortality by 80%.
Breast examination with mammography (or other tests if needed) reduces breast cancer mortality by 1/3.
Colon cancer causes the second highest number of cancer deaths after lung cancer. Colonoscopy reduces the risk of colon cancer by 70%.
About 5-9% of men over the age of 65 have an abdominal aortic aneurysm. An ultrasound between the ages of 65 and 75 reduces the risk of dying from aneurysm rupture by 40%.
Screening for prostate cancer in men with the PSA test can prevent 1 to 2 deaths from this cancer and 3 metastatic cancers per 1,000 men followed for 13 years.
Annual low-dose chest computed tomography in smokers reduces lung cancer deaths by 20%, while in an additional 10% there may be a random finding in another organ (kidney, adrenal mass, aortic aneurysm) to be treated.
Bone mineral density testing will detect osteoporosis in women (as well as men) in a timely manner and will greatly reduce the risk of fractures.
Undoubtedly, regular pre-symptomatic screening enables the early detection of risk factors or diseases at an early stage, where treatment reduces morbidity and mortality and therefore should not be omitted by anyone.
Writes:
Iraklis Avramopoulos Pathologist
Director of the 5th Pathological Clinic HYGEIA
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