title: Findings of anthropometric and laboratory data from adult health screening under the National Health Insurance plan in Taiwan.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Management, Chang-Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan. ROC.
authors.forename: Yueh-Guey Laura
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Hsu-Min
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.forename: Jin-Chyuan
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids