What evidence is required to justify the NHS Health Check programme?

What evidence is required to justify the NHS Health Check programme?

Blog Article

Abstract Authors of a matched cohort study claimed the NHS Health Check programme reduced total mortality 23% and liver cirrhosis incidence 44%.Such impressive results require critical scrutiny, especially as the intervention targets a large, predominantly healthy population, and as it has harms and costs.Eleven high-quality randomised trials containing varying combinations of the elements constituting the NHS Health Check assessed total mortality.They included 233,298 participants and 21,535 deaths, with a risk ratio for total mortality of 1.00 (95% CI 0.

97 to 1.03) and little or no effect on mortality from targeted diseases, including cardiovascular disease.However, the observational study did not Idler Support Plate reference any of those trials.No harms, though well-known, were assessed or mentioned.While some limitations were discussed, others were not and central questions regarding the likelihood of their results were not asked.

A burden of proof must be met before interventions are introduced, especially those directed towards healthy citizens that divert resources away from medical and non-medical interventions of known benefit.In our opinion, the NHS Health Check programme does not meet UK National Screening Committee requirements that high-quality randomized trials show benefits outweigh harms.Emphasizing evidence from observational studies while disregarding randomised BIO FATS OMEGA 3-6-9 trials that contradict their findings and failing to assess or mention harms of interventions directed at healthy citizens, are contrary to sound scientific principles, and to evidence-based medicine.This apparently guides policies which burden an already stressed health system.A review of the NHS Health Check programme by the UK National Screening Committee seems timely.