Findings of anthropometric and laboratory data from adult health screening under the National Health Insurance plan in Taiwan.
BACKGROUND
From April of 1996, all adults over 40 years old insured by the National Health Insurance (NHI) plan of Taiwan are eligible for a physical check-up once a year by most NHI-contracted family physicians. This study provides a benchmark data of their current physical health.


METHODS
In total, 9,016 adult health examination reports were systematically sampled from 692,311 claims from April to September 1996. A subject profile included basic personal information, a physical examination, and routine blood and urine laboratory tests. The reliability of the data was verified by comparing the results of anthropometrical measures to others obtained from a nationwide nutrition survey.


RESULTS
The mean height was 165 +/- 6.3 cm for men and 154 +/- 5.6 cm for women. Totally 54.3% of the people sampled were overweight, especially younger adults. The average systolic/diastolic blood pressure was 129+/- 19.9/80.9+/- 11.7 mmHg for men and 127.2 +/ -21.2/78.9 +/- 12.0 mmHg for women. There were 17.6% with high blood sugar, while only 8.0% were self-reported as diabetes mellitus (DM) sufferers. Women over 65 had higher cholesterol levels (>6.24 mmol/L) than did their younger peers and men. Men's blood triglyceride levels decreased from 1.74 to 1.28 g/L with age, while women's increased from 1.04 to 1.55 g/L with age.


CONCLUSIONS
Taiwanese adults over 40 are 2-3 kg heavier and 2 cm taller than their counterparts 10 years ago, but may not be healthier. Future study may need to focus upon cost-effectiveness of this nationwide adult health screening program.
Huang
Yueh-Guey Laura
YG
Department of Healthcare Management, Chang-Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan. ROC.
Tseng
Hsu-Min
HM
Luo
Jin-Chyuan
JC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs; D010808:Physical Examination; D013624:Taiwan; D014792:Visual Acuity
D008055:Lipids