Prevention is Better Than Cure

Investigations to be done if you are between 30 to 50 years of age

Now a days disorders like hypertension, diabetes, obesity, hypothyroidism, PCOD and other metabolic disorders are on rise and we need to be cautious to get it diagnosed at the earliest and before any structural damage sets in our body These are no longer only familial disorders but are lifestyle disorder and are on rise because of less use of legs and more use of brain and mind supported with some FAD diets to remain slim. Lack of sleep is also a major cause.

If you are between 30 to 50 yrs, then undergo these tests. Till you reach age 30, generally everyone is having some responsibilities of family on their shoulders. Due to career opportunities and other chores, we have time to look after our families but seldom we find time to look after ourselves. During this period one might suffer from diabetes, hypertension, obesity and other metabolic disorders.

Experts say, if we take care of our mind, body and health, we can prevent these disorders.

Prevention is better than cure

So it is important to look after your mind and body

Which investigations to be done at the age 30?

For this let us try to understand which disorder occur in this age groups.

Why there is need of investigations?

Diabetes, hypertension, obesity, hypothyroidism, etc used to occur after age 60 yrs previously. During the Covid times we have seen that all these disorders are becoming common from the age group 25 to 30 yrs and if they remain un-diagnosed, then they would remain hidden in body till a complication sets in the system.

So what needs to be done to prevent metabolic disorders

We need to observe if any changes have been observed recently in our eating habits or bowels habits. Are we neglecting our body, are we inviting any disorder due to this? Prevention is better than cure, so it is better to do the necessary for our benefit. We don’t need to visit hospital often, all the complications and changes in our body due to disorder can be prevented like neuropathy, atherosclerosis, heart problems, kidney failure, cataract due diabetes ………. can all be prevented.

Which investigations to be done in 30s? (For Males and Females)

Clinical Judgement – Blood pressure check. It can be checked at home or in clinics. If your age is in 30s then BP must be 120 / 80. If it is remaining 130 / 90 or 140 / 90, it is on higher side. It is better to work up on BP remaining at 120 / 80. If it is remaining on higher side, then some blood tests, ECG, Stress test and other tests need to be performed. If it is remaining on higher side, please visit your Family Doctor. One must visit their Family Doctor at least once a year if no complains regarding health.

Weight and Height Parameters

BMI – BMI assessed for adults people above age 18 yrs

BMI = weight (kg) / [height (m)]2

Less than 18 – Underweight

18-25 – Normal

25-30 – Overweight

30-35 – Obese 35 and above with complications like HT, DM is morbidly obese

ECG – Electrocardiogram. ECG is a non – invasive test and can be performed in clinic. ECG is a good indicator of current condition of heart and current electrical activity of heart. If blood pressure has remained too high for a very long time, then LVH pattern is visible on ECG.

Blood Tests –

CBC – Complete blood count. Anaemia – haemoglobin and types of anemia, MCV, MCHC; Infections – white blood cell counts; Thrombocytopenia – decreased platelet counts; Polycythemia – increased platelet counts; Leukemia; lymphoma, some malignancies.

Anaemia is very common in females, in India. Normal Haemoglobin is 12.5 gm% in females and 14-15 gm% in males. CBC must be done at least once a year.

Blood Sugar Random / Fasting / Post Prandial –

Normal Fasting must be < 126 gm%

Normal Post Prandial must be < 160 gm%……….. after regular meals. If you ate mango, puran poli and checked your blood sugar, it may rise till 180 gm% which is normal.

Urine sugar must also be checked with blood sugar levels. If urine sugar is trace or 1+, then it is necessary to investigate further for diabetes.

Sr. HbA1c – Normally it must remain below 5.6

5.6 – 6.5 is supposed to be pre-diabetic and it can be reversed totally to normal. This value means you are prone to diabetes in the near future.

Above 6.5 is diabetes, this cannot be neglected.

Lipid Profile – Lipid profile must be done. It includes cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, HDL, VLDL levels in blood. Total cholesterol must remain below 250 mg/dL. LDL and triglyceride must remain below 150 md/dL, but better is they are remaining below 60-70 mg/dL. HDL must be between 50 – 80 mg/d. HDL is going to rise by exercise and programmed inflammation. If the ratio of total cholesterol and HDL is less than 4, then there is less risk of heart attacks in the near future. But if the ratio is remaining more than 5, there is risk of having heart attack. This may happen even if blood cholesterol is normal and HDL is too low. If total cholesterol is 220, which is normal and HDL is 40, then Total Cholesterol : HDL is 220 : 40 which is 5.5 is an indicator of risk of heart or brain problems in future. So the ratio is very important. All cholesterol parameters must be monitored closely.

Liver Function Tests – Total Serum Bilirubin, SGPT, SGOT, Alkaline Phosphatase, Proteins and other parameters on LFTs if normal means liver is functioning normally. And digestion is good.

Kidney Function Tests – Serum Creatinine, BUL, BUN indicates functioning of kidney. eGFR shows exact functioning of kidney. Kidney failure can be diagnosed early and the process of kidney failure can be aborted if diagnosed well in advance.

Thyroid Function Test – Thyroid must be checked, if you are in the age group of 30 to 50 yrs. This disorder is many a times asymptomatic. Blood test can detect sub-clinical condition also, which means in the near future the person may suffer from disorder involving thyroid.

Serum Vitamin D – Serum Vitamin D must be checked. In the last 20-30 yrs, many people are suffering from vitamin D deficiency. As we are staying more of indoors, we are also sleeping late and not getting up till 12 noon, very low exposure to sun is the major cause. To achieve optimum levels of vitamin D, we need to stay in sun for atleast 20-30 mins daily early morning from 7 – 10 am. We can do exercise, gardening, farming, cycling, swimming, household chores in that period to help generation of vitamin D in our body. Vitamin D is important to keep our immunity in best condition. Our skin helps in formation of vitamin D. More the exposed portion of our body, faster would be formation of vitamin D.

Urine Routine Analysis – Our water intake is the most important part of health. Pus cells and bacteria in urine, crystalluria (oxalate crystals in urine), proteins in urine is abnormal and kidney disease should be ruled out.

GUT HEALTH

Gut health is most important

If you are suffering from constipation or motion after eating and drinking food, means gut health is not good. Commensals are born to keep our gut healthy. We are not taking care of gut. We are ingesting chemically infused food since last 30-50 yrs which is a major cause of load on liver and gut. Gut bacteria are not able to sustain. Our food also lacks in fiber, which is food for gut bacteria and means of their survival. Our gut health also helps in maintaining vitamin D and B12 levels.

FOR FEMALES (Only) –

PAP SMEAR – For every female in the age group 30 – 50 yrs, PAP smear must be done if she has any history of cervical or endometrial malignancy in her family. Yearly it must be done if history of malignancy. Every 5 yrly, if no family history of malignancy.

Self Breast Examination – Self breast examination at least weekly once is important to diagnose any painless lumps at earliest. Any lump found in axilla, breast, neck must be checked often. If any lump found, FNAC – fine needle aspiration should be done at earliest to rule out any malignancy.

Menstrual History – Painful menses, vomiting associated with menses, loose motions or pain in legs during menses, pain in abdomen for 4 days during periods needs investigations.

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