Who should have health check-ups... more than just once a year?

Annual health check-up at least once a year… really? Believe it or not, many people only visit the hospital for a health check-up once a year! If you ask whether this frequency is enough, it might be sufficient… but not for everyone! Because there are some groups of people for whom health check-ups “are necessary” more than just once a year. So, who are these groups and what should they monitor? Here is the answer…

Diabetes check… because “blood sugar levels” never stay still
Those at risk of diabetes or diabetic patients who still need to control their blood sugar levels should see a doctor every 3 months to prevent possible complications. There are two common methods to check blood sugar levels:

• Blood sugar test called Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), which involves drawing blood after the patient has fasted for at least 8 hours to see if the glucose level in the blood at that time is normal, below, or above normal.
• Average blood sugar level test called Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), which measures the percentage of red blood cells coated with sugar on the surface. This test can assess the percentage of red blood cells coated with sugar over the past 2-3 months. Simply put, even if the FBS value is normal, the HbA1c value may be higher than normal. Therefore, testing HbA1c together helps confirm blood sugar levels more accurately.

Fat test… the main culprit of heart and brain blood vessel diseases
When checking blood fat levels, we don’t just look at Total Cholesterol but should also know in detail how high the cholesterol is, the level of HDL or good fat that helps prevent bad fat from accumulating on the walls of arteries, and the levels of LDL and Triglycerides, which are bad fats and the main causes of artery hardening, leading to heart and brain blood vessel diseases.

Because good blood fat control is not about taking medication to reduce the bad guys for life, it’s better if we know the appropriate treatment approach to reduce medication use while increasing the number of soldiers managing the bad fats. Therefore, those at risk or with abnormal blood fat levels should monitor their fat levels every 3-6 months.

Kidney and liver tests… for those who cannot live without (taking) medication
For patients with chronic NCDs who still need medication to control various values such as fat, blood pressure, or blood sugar, long-term medication use, including drugs with strong effects that are toxic to the liver and kidneys, such as statins, requires liver and kidney function tests before medication. During treatment, doctors will regularly monitor every 3 or 6 months to adjust the type and dosage of medication appropriately. This includes checking SGOT, SGPT, and Alk Phosphatase (ALP), which are sensitive indicators of liver abnormalities such as hepatitis, liver cancer, or drug toxicity to the liver, and monitoring Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and Creatinine to check the amount of waste excreted by the kidneys to ensure normal kidney function.

Vitamin D test… because this vitamin is more important than you think
Have you ever seen health check-up packages that include “Vitamin D test”? Many might think, is vitamin D really that important to be tested regularly? Actually, vitamin D deficiency doesn’t just affect the skin or increase the risk of osteoporosis but also raises the risk of other diseases, such as diabetes because vitamin D helps the body metabolize sugar better. For hypertensive patients, if vitamin D levels are below 15 ng/ml, the risk of heart disease doubles. Additionally, research from the Cancer Research Center at the University of California found that taking 25 micrograms of vitamin D daily can reduce the risk of colon cancer by up to 50%.

However… excessive vitamin D intake can also cause side effects, such as weight loss due to calcium breakdown from bones, or in severe cases, death due to organ failure. Therefore, vitamin D levels should be monitored every 2-4 months in those with levels below 35 ng/ml and every 1-2 months in those with levels above 35 ng/ml to ensure the body is not receiving too much or too little vitamin D.

If you are one of these groups, health check-ups to monitor the function of various body systems more than once a year are necessary because diseases that seem like ordinary chronic conditions can lead to dangerous complications… a silent threat that can cause sudden death!