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General health screenings to improve cardiovascular risk profiles: a randomized controlled trial in general practice with 5-year follow-up.
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2002
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The study aimed to determine whether general health screenings and GP discussions could improve cardiovascular risk profiles in a randomized population over five years. A population‑based, randomized controlled trial enrolled 2,000 middle‑aged adults from Danish primary care practices, assigning them to a control group, a group receiving two health screenings, or a group receiving two screenings plus annual 45‑minute GP consultations, and measured cardiovascular risk score, BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, CO, and tobacco use. After five years, the screening groups showed lower cardiovascular risk scores, BMI, and cholesterol, with about half as many participants at elevated risk compared to controls—particularly among those with higher baseline risk—and adding GP consultations did not provide additional benefit.
To investigate the impact of general health screenings and discussions with general practitioners on the cardiovascular risk profile of a random population of patients.A population-based, randomized, controlled, 5-year follow-up trial conducted in a primary care setting.The study group consisted of 2000 patients, randomly selected middle-aged men and women aged 30 to 50 years from family practices in the district of Ebeltoft, Denmark. Of these patients, 1507 (75.4%) agreed to participate. Patients were randomized into (1) a control group who did not receive health screenings, (2) an intervention group that received 2 health screenings, (3) an intervention group that received both the 2 screenings and a 45-minute follow-up consultation annually with their general practitioner.Cardiovascular risk score (CRS), body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, serum cholesterol, carbon monoxide in expiratory air, and tobacco use.After 5 years, the CRS, BMI, and serum cholesterol levels were lower in the intervention groups compared with the control group. The improved outcome was greater in the baseline risk groups. The number of patients with elevated CRS in the intervention groups was approximately half the number of patients with elevated CRS in the control group. The difference was not a result of medication use. There was no difference between the group that received consultations after the screenings and the group that had health screenings alone.Health screenings reduced the CRS in the intervention groups. After 5 years of follow-up, the number of persons at elevated cardiovascular risk was about half that expected, based on the prevalence/proportion in a population not receiving the health checks (the control group). The impact of intervention was higher among at-risk individuals. Consultations about health did not appear to improve the cardiovascular profile of the study population.