Cross-sectional study on the characteristics of examinees eligible for specific health guidance

Abstract

Since April 2008, the Act on Securing Medical Care for the Elderly requires insurers to provide specific health checkups and health guidance. The Tenri Yorozu Health Insurance Association also provides specific health checkups and guidance. The characteristics of persons eligible for guidance have been described in previous studies of the specified health checkups; however, there have been few studies comparing them to persons who are ineligible for guidance. In this study, we collected and compared background factors and blood test data to clarify characteristics of patients subject to health guidance (those subject to health guidance) and patients not subject to specific health guidance (those not subject to health guidance). We analyzed the combination pattern of factors associated with each criterion associated with health guidance eligibility, the average rate of specified health checkups, and the implementation rate of specified health guidance. Furthermore, we investigated the characteristics and current status of subjects eligible for health guidance. Comparison of background factors and blood test data showed significant differences in most of the items for judgment of specific health guidance for both men and women. The items other than those for which specific health guidance was given were age, height, total protein, hemoglobin concentration, and eGFR. In the group of subjects receiving health guidance, body weight, ChE, AST, ALT, γ-GTP, and uric acid levels were significantly higher. As these items are associated with metabolic syndrome, they should be closely monitored. The combination pattern of items corresponding to each criterion in the subjects eligible for health guidance showed no major characteristics, and the combination of items was dispersed. Although the average rate of specified health checkups in our association was high (92.0%), the average rate of implementation of specified health guidance was low (6.3%). Thus, the implementation rate of health guidance needs to be improved in the future, and we will monitor its progress as we begin implementing health guidance using e-learning from FY2022. From the viewpoint of preventive medicine, further educational activities are necessary to deepen the understanding of specific health checkups and metabolic syndrome among those who receive specific health checkups.