The idea of starting the year with a clean slate, particularly a clean bill of health, is appealing. We run through five health tests that might be worth considering.

The type 2 diabetes, or HbA1c, test

A relatively new test, the HbA1c test looks at ‘glycated haemoglobin’ in your body, averaged over the last three months, to determine if you have diabetes, prediabetes or healthy levels of HbA1c.

With 1.2 million Australians living with diabetes, a further 500,00 suspected of having undiagnosed diabetes and with the condition projected to grow to 3.5 million by 2033, it’s a real spectre on the health horizon. Someone can live with diabetes for 7 years before any symptoms become apparent, causing damage to the body in the meantime.

Take the 2-minute AUSDRISK diabetes assessment to learn if you might be at risk and need to book in for a test.

The skin cancer, or melanoma, test

Australians have the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, and melanoma is the third most common cancer in Australia, and two-thirds of Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the time they’re 70.

A visit to the doctor or skin specialist to check spots and for other symptoms is your first port of call. If required, the doctor may perform a biopsy to test for any suspected skin cancer.

Bowel cancer screening

Every year 17,000 Australians are diagnosed with bowel cancer, but the good news is that bowel cancer is one of the preventable cancers, meaning with changes to diet and lifestyle, the dangers can be reversed or mitigated.

Of those diagnosed with bowel cancer, 93% are aged over 50. If detected early, 9 out of 10 bowel cancer cases can be successfully treated. And in a stroke of further good fortune, the Australian government runs a free bowel screening test program, sending a testing kit to your house, no less, which you can conduct and return at your own convenience.

Cholesterol test

Cholesterol is no good for the old heart and brain, so if you’re over 45 you want to check that out – particularly if high cholesterol and heart disease run in the family. For those under 45, other risk factors include smoking, excess weight, diabetes, high blood pressure renal failure, or being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent.

A cholesterol test involves taking a blood sample and looking for LDL-C, a bad cholesterol (there are good ones too) which collects in the walls of blood vessels.

STI and related tests

No, young people do not escape testing. If you are sexually active you might want to consider testing for chlamydia, syphilis, or gonorrhoea, as well as the three H’s: human papillomavirus, HIV and hepatitis.

STIs are on the rise in Australia and often symptoms will be missed. If not detected and treated the health effects can be significant. More detail on how these tests work can be found here.

While GPs are often the first port of call for someone concerned about a medical condition, and where test referrals are made, it’s the pathology lab where a diagnosis is determined.

‘There are plenty of health conditions out there of concern,’ says Victorian pathologist, Dr David Clift ‘but the good news is that a lot of these conditions are preventable and treatable.’

‘Certainly, the five conditions mentioned here are preventable. If you haven’t had a test ever or for a while and have concerns, it’s good to know with Australia’s leading-edge pathology sector that you can have a simple test and set your mind at ease for the coming year.’

The post 5 health tests to start 2019 on the right footing first appeared on Know Pathology Know Healthcare.

Here are five reasons why it might be worth talking to your healthcare professional about getting tested.

Family history

One of the first questions doctors will ask about you for certain conditions, particularly some cancers, is if there is an existing family history of the condition. Family history does not mean you have or will definitely contract a certain condition, however, it can be an indicator of higher risks, which suggest that further investigation may be needed

‘Having the same condition in multiple family members can be cause for concern, as it means there may be a genetic connection. Therefore, being related to them could mean you may be at risk of carrying the same genetic change,’ says Dr Melody Caramins, the National Director of Genomics at Primary Healthcare.

Ethnicity

Ethnicity is slightly different to family history but does heavily overlap. It can be surprising to know that certain ethnicities are more likely to have certain conditions.

For example, sickle cell disease is more common in people of African, African American, or Mediterranean heritage while Tay-Sachs disease is more likely to occur among people of Jewish or French-Canadian ancestry.* Being aware of the ethnicity of direct family members (parents and grandparents) can be useful information.

‘A person’s ethnic background can tell us what they may be at higher risk for – even if there isn’t any family history for the condition – because ethnic groups share higher proportions of similar genetic material. However, it should be noted that that doesn’t mean other ethnicities cannot get those same conditions,’ says Dr Caramins

Symptoms

The most obvious reason to go get any medical test is if you are exhibiting symptoms. You know your body better than anyone, so if something doesn’t seem right, it’s definitely worth going to your doctor for a check-up – which may include a blood test, a saliva swab or a tissue sample to discern more information.

Exposure

‘There’s a bug going around’ is something that everyone has either heard or said at some point. With so many infectious conditions – some as common as the cold, flu or STIs, to more life-threatening conditions such as Hepatitis and HIV – it can be hard to keep track of what is contagious and how it is spread. It’s important to get tested if you have been exposed to an area or person with an infectious condition, even if you are not showing any symptoms.

Lifestyle factors

Some people like to eat too much sugar or fried foods. Some people are smokers and some don’t do enough exercise. Some get too much sleep, while others too little. These lifestyle factors can all impact your health.

The habits we have can increase our risk of developing certain health conditions. While lifestyle factors are things that you can change, if you’ve had those habits for years, even decades, it would be worth being tested.

* https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/inheritance/ethnicgroup

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