What is the relationship between preventive health care and physical examination

To put it simply, physical examination is the "pathway" of preventive health care, and preventive care is the "footholding" of physical examination results. The two are not the relationship between inclusion and being included, but are the two core links that connect and influence each other throughout the entire cycle of health management.

I met a 32-year-old Internet operator a while ago who stayed up late all year long to catch up on projects. Last year, his workplace physical examination revealed slightly high triglycerides and critical uric acid. The doctor included reminders on a light diet and regular work and rest in the physical examination report. He just dismissed it as a cliche, but turned around and stayed up all night. He never stopped making barbecue milk tea, and he also followed the trend and bought several hundred yuan of liver-protecting tablets as "preventive health care." As a result, this year's physical examination directly revealed moderate fatty liver, uric acid soared to 580, and I had an episode of acute gout that was so painful that I couldn't get out of bed. I panicked and found a nutritionist to customize a diet plan. I fixed brisk walking three times a week. Next time I have a physical examination, I know that I don't need to add useless high-end items. I just need to add urinary microalbumin and carotid artery ultrasound to screen for the risk of high uric acid and hyperlipidemia.

There are actually two extreme views on the relationship between the two. One is that "physical examinations are omnipotent". A full physical examination worth tens of thousands of dollars every year is equivalent to preventive care. There is no need to adjust your living habits, and physical examinations can detect any problems anyway; the other is that "physical examinations are useless". If you find small problems, you don't need to treat them, and if you find big problems, you don't need to treat them. It's better to drink health tea and soak your feet. In fact, both of these statements do not touch upon the essence of the relationship between the two. To use an inappropriate analogy, the relationship between the two is a bit like weather forecasts and preventing rain when going out. Physical examination means reading the forecast in advance and saying that there will be heavy rain today. Preventive health care means taking an umbrella when you go out and avoiding waterlogged roads. If you just read the forecast and do nothing, you will still get wet when you should. If you don't even read the forecast, you will not think of looking for an umbrella until you are soaked in water, and you will inevitably catch a cold.

I used to meet many elderly people when I was doing health education in the community. After retirement, they spent tens of thousands a year to buy health mattresses and stomach nourishing powder. I thought this was preventive health care. However, when they were asked to spend more than 100 yuan for a Helicobacter pylori screening, they repeatedly waved their hands and said it was a waste. Last year, there was a 72-year-old aunt who suffered from constant stomach bloating and drank stomach nourishing powder for almost two years. Finally, her children persuaded her to have a physical examination, and she was found to be positive for Helicobacter pylori. She already had signs of chronic atrophic gastritis. Fortunately, she was discovered early. She took quadruple therapy for half a month and adjusted her usual eating habits. Now she has basically never suffered from gastric bloating. She herself said that the tens of thousands of yuan she spent on stomach nourishing powder were not as useful as these more than 100 examinations.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the two are inherently intertwined. If you do preventive health care without physical examination, it can easily turn into careless maintenance. You may drink sugary health tea every day even though you have high blood sugar problems, which will only make things worse. If you just throw the report in the drawer after the physical examination, no matter how comprehensive the project is, it will be in vain. Small problems that can be reversed by diet and exercise will become chronic diseases, but the gain will not be worth the candle.