Medical checkup for a 40-year-old male
The homeostasis processes in your body deteriorate and
falter as you become older. The body's defense mechanisms fail to keep up with
the load they are supposed to monitor in a variety of disease processes,
including hormone imbalances, skin malignancies, prostate enlargement, and
heart disease, to mention a few.
In the body, illness processes can start to show up after 40
or 50 years of eating unhealthily, having bad habits, and not exercising.
The good news is that early testing and monitoring can
occasionally let you know about bodily imbalances that are frequently linked to
chronic disease. You may take control of your health and identify diseases
early on when they are simpler to treat with the help of this proactive method.
The screening exams that are suggested for males aged 40 and
older will be the main subject of this article.
Tests that Men Over 40 Should Consider
These eight health exams should ideally be a required
component of your annual physical if you are a male over the age of 40:
1. Prostate
checks
One in 41 men in the United States dies from prostate cancer, which affects roughly 12.5% of men over the course of their lives and accounts for 2.4% of all male deaths. As a result, it presents a severe health risk to the male population.
The good news is that prostate cancer spreads gradually, and
early identification can result in effective therapy. In actuality, the
survival rate for prostate cancer in its early stages is relatively high.
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA test) and the digital rectal
exam (DRE) are the primary prostate cancer screening tests:
With PSA, your blood is examined for prostate-specific
antigen levels; if they are high, a DRE is required. PSA levels can be higher
for a variety of reasons, including infection, recent sex, trauma, riding a
bike or motorcycle, and benign prostate enlargement. Having a high PSA does not
automatically indicate that one has prostate cancer.
The next test is a DRE, which involves the doctor feeling
the prostate with a gloved finger to check for enlargement, nodules, and
additional problems if the PSA level is elevated.
Most males aged 55 to 69 are the target audience for
screening, according to the American Urologic Society (AUA).
Men between the ages of 40 and 54 should also be screened if
they have any risk factors, such as being of African descent, having a brother
or father who has had prostate cancer, having a family history of any other
cancers related to prostate cancer, such as ovarian, breast, colorectal,
endometrial, or pancreatic cancer, or using 5-alpha reeducates inhibitors.
2.
Colonoscopy
In the West specifically, cancer of the colorectal (CRC) is
on the rise and is a major cause of disease and death worldwide. The third-most
lethal and fourth-most often reported cancer in the world, according to GLOBOCAN
2018 data, is this one.
The death rate from CRC has decreased recently as a result
of screening programs, but it is still a problem that needs to be addressed.
The typical American diet (SAD), a sedentary lifestyle,
alcohol and cigarette use, obesity, and intake of processed meat are risk
factors for CRC.
Luckily, CRC has a modest growth rate and is easily detected
with the sophisticated screening methods available today, such as immunological
histology screening tests (which look for blood in the stool) and a straightforward
screening colonoscopy.
If minor polyps or tumors are discovered during a
colonoscopy, they are simple to remove and the disease is halted. If there is a
family history of CRC, it is strongly advised to start CRC screening earlier in
life.
3. Test
your cholesterol
Due to the fact that cholesterol is considered an indicator
of the probable disease, cholesterol tests have become a staple of yearly
physicals. Even though not everyone with high cholesterol will experience a
heart attack or a stroke, these events and metabolic syndrome are strongly
linked.
A grouping of five risk factors for diabetes and
cardiovascular disease is known as metabolic syndrome. It consists of:
- Huge waistline
- Higher triglycerides
- Lower HDL levels
- Increasing blood pressure
- Fasting blood sugar increase
One or two of these risk factors are common, and metabolic
syndrome is the diagnosis when three or more are present. It goes without
saying that if you have more of these risk factors, you are at a higher risk
for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and stroke.
4.
Tests for blood sugar
Given that it is one of the risk factors for metabolic
syndrome, blood sugar testing, and monitoring are crucial for maintaining good
health. Only blood sugar testing can inform medical professionals that there
might be a problem.
Testing hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), however, is frequently
preferable since it reveals the patient's average blood sugar level over the
previous three months. If a patient has to use insulin or not can be determined
in part by the hemoglobin A1c levels.
An increased hemoglobin A1c can encourage a patient to try
to reduce their carbohydrate intake and up their exercise in order to lower
this lab value and enhance their general health.
5. ECG
Even in the absence of any heart disease symptoms or signs, yearly electrocardiograms (ECG) can help detect cardiac problems in their earliest stages.
Numerous cardiac problems can be deduced from these tests,
which use the ECG to read the electrical impulses of the heart. In fact, ECGs
are frequently used to diagnose past heart attacks.
6. Bone
density testing
Hip fractures brought on by low bone density are a
significant medical issue.
Men with any of the aforementioned risk factors are advised
to speak with their doctor and get bone density testing at suggested intervals.
7.
Dental checkups
Adults' dental health is a good indicator of their general
health and well-being. In affluent Western societies, general dentists have
typically recommended six-month dental checkups; however, advice regarding the
frequency of exams differs between nations and dental healthcare systems.
Neglecting your dental health can lead to a number of
illnesses, including:
- An infection of the heart's inner lining is called endocarditis.
- Cardiovascular disease caused by bacteremia (blood bacteria) and elevated inflammation brought on by the periodontal disease
- Difficulties during pregnancy, which have been associated with low birth weight and early birth
- Pneumonia is caused by an excess of oral bacteria that enters the lungs.
The dentist will thoroughly examine your oral cavity at
every two years' appointments, looking for any indications of oral cancer among
other things.
In accordance to the American Cancer Society, there are over
54,000 new cases of the oral cavity or oropharyngeal cancer each year, and there
are also roughly 11,230 fatalities from these cancers.
8. Eye
tests
A vital component of maintaining excellent health is yearly
eye exams. Some people believe that the eyes are the window to the soul, yet
they can also be signs of chronic illness. The majority of incidents of
blindness in the senior population are caused by macular degeneration.
Many chronic eye disorders, many of which lack early
symptoms, can be detected in their early stages with routine eye exams.
Fortunately, they can be stopped if they are caught early.
One such condition that might cause lifelong blindness by
harming the optic nerve is glaucoma. The only site in the human body where
blood vessels and nerves can be directly observed is the eye, and it can only
be detected with a complete eye examination.
As a result, systemic disorders like hypertension, diabetes,
excessive cholesterol, and some neurologic conditions can be diagnosed with the
use of an eye exam.
Last but not least, cancer can grow inside the eye, and
thorough eye exams are the greatest approach to detecting and diagnosing this
condition. Fortunately, complete recovery is frequently possible with early
detection.
Other
Male Annual Tests after the Age of 40
Considering that a man's testosterone levels start to
decline around the age of 35, I examine every man's lab results in my clinic,
including those for testosterone, estradiol, DHT and DHEA, fasting insulin,
IGF-1, CRP, homocysteine, and vitamin D.
With the use of these tests, I can determine whether the
patient has excessive inflammation and whether their hormones are in balance.
If the test results are abnormal, my initial course of action is to assess food
and lifestyle choices and determine where change can be made.
As a functional medicine specialist with board
certification, I frequently try to start with dietary and lifestyle changes
before turning to pharmaceuticals. Keep in mind that the body is intelligent
and desires to be in a healthy state of equilibrium; it merely requires the
proper inputs. Food first is a fundamental tenet of functional medicine.
Why Is
Regular Testing Important to Have?
It's important to educate yourself on your health criteria
and be aware of where you stand in order to maintain your best possible
physical, mental, and emotional health.
Knowing your baseline test results helps you make more
informed choices regarding preventative care and may even change the way you
live. Many ailments often only manifest themselves after years of sluggish
growth inside your body.
In accordance with the US Preventative Services Task Force
(USPSTF), "preventive services, such as screening tests, counseling
services, and preventive medicines, are procedures or therapies that your doctor
or others provide to prevent diseases before they cause you symptoms or
problems."
When an illness is caught early, it has a better chance of
not progressing to a fatal or severely disabling stage. "An ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of cure" is an old proverb that holds true
even today.
How
Frequently Should You Get Regular Checkups?
Even if testing, monitoring, and checks cannot completely
reduce disease risks, at the very least, yearly checkups are advised.
To increase one's chances of seeing a medical issue early on
and give enough time for the proper diagnosis, treatment, and avoidance of any
future consequences of such an illness, half-yearly checkups are advised.
Any illness process should be detected early on rather than
later, when there may be few or no effective therapies available.
What
Lifestyle Modifications Should Men Make After the Age of 40?
Your entire health is greatly influenced by your diet. I advocate a sugar-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free way of life. Just doing that will aid in weight loss, the reduction of inflammation, and the restoration of hormone balance to a more normal level.
I then advise a 90:10 rule once they have followed this diet
regularly for 1-2 months. The above-mentioned benefits can be attained by eating
that way 90% of the time, which is more doable for most people.
To maintain a healthy and active lifestyle, nutritious
dietary choices must go hand in hand with physical activity. I recommend
regular exercise to all of my patients. The patient will determine the level of
activity.
I suggest walking, jogging, and weightlifting if you're a
45-year-old male who needs to lose a few pounds. You'll be able to lose weight
by doing by gaining lean muscle mass, which will take the place of extra
fat. Regularly engaging in this form of physical exercise also aids in boosting
your metabolism, which is essential to prevent unwarranted weight gain.
It might be a different tale if you're a male 87-year-old. I
may suggest getting a few soup cans and using them for simple chair squats and
curls while watching TV.
What
Diseases Are Men 40 Years of Age More Prone to?
Diabetes, coronary artery disease, metabolic syndrome,
several malignancies, hormonal problems, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and
several types of autoimmune diseases.
CONCLUSION
You can't work out your way out of a poor diet, so adopting a diet and lifestyle that supports good health is the greatest step to take.
The person might need a wake-up call from an objective
analysis using lab results and tests that are unreliable. Additionally, routine
exams result in helpful recommendations from medical experts that a person
might not otherwise receive.
The greatest time to prevent sickness is before it even
begins, and you can frequently achieve this by having a skilled doctor give you
the once over twice a year.
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