Dr. Suzanne O'Sullivan

Committees of specialists have been gradually changing the parameters required to be diagnosed with something like prediabetes or hypertension, with the idea that if you address these issues, you'll prevent heart disease at a later date. Now, this runs into the same difficulties as the early cancer diagnosis.

Committees of specialists have been gradually changing the parameters required to be diagnosed with something like prediabetes or hypertension, with the idea that if you address these issues, you'll prevent heart disease at a later date. Now, this runs into the same difficulties as the early cancer diagnosis.

Committees of specialists have been gradually changing the parameters required to be diagnosed with something like prediabetes or hypertension, with the idea that if you address these issues, you'll prevent heart disease at a later date. Now, this runs into the same difficulties as the early cancer diagnosis.

If you adjust the parameters of blood pressure to identify more people as hypertensive, as happened not that very long ago, you can... identify huge numbers of people as being potentially hypertensive and potentially at risk of heart disease or stroke. But actually, of those huge number of people, you will certainly be helping a percentage of them.

If you adjust the parameters of blood pressure to identify more people as hypertensive, as happened not that very long ago, you can... identify huge numbers of people as being potentially hypertensive and potentially at risk of heart disease or stroke. But actually, of those huge number of people, you will certainly be helping a percentage of them.

If you adjust the parameters of blood pressure to identify more people as hypertensive, as happened not that very long ago, you can... identify huge numbers of people as being potentially hypertensive and potentially at risk of heart disease or stroke. But actually, of those huge number of people, you will certainly be helping a percentage of them.

Maybe 20% of them will genuinely be at risk of stroke. But you are inevitably going to be over treating maybe 80% of them who are never at risk because they didn't have other high risk factors. And similarly, if you identify lots of people with prediabetes, only a percentage of those people would actually develop diabetes if you didn't identify them.

Maybe 20% of them will genuinely be at risk of stroke. But you are inevitably going to be over treating maybe 80% of them who are never at risk because they didn't have other high risk factors. And similarly, if you identify lots of people with prediabetes, only a percentage of those people would actually develop diabetes if you didn't identify them.

Maybe 20% of them will genuinely be at risk of stroke. But you are inevitably going to be over treating maybe 80% of them who are never at risk because they didn't have other high risk factors. And similarly, if you identify lots of people with prediabetes, only a percentage of those people would actually develop diabetes if you didn't identify them.

So you've always got this health economics going on where you're saying, I identify 100 people. 10 of them might benefit, but 90 of them will probably not benefit from this intervention. And the assumption all the time is that the intervention doesn't do any harm, so that's okay. You've saved 10 people and the other 90 people have just gotten some good advice in health monitoring.

So you've always got this health economics going on where you're saying, I identify 100 people. 10 of them might benefit, but 90 of them will probably not benefit from this intervention. And the assumption all the time is that the intervention doesn't do any harm, so that's okay. You've saved 10 people and the other 90 people have just gotten some good advice in health monitoring.

So you've always got this health economics going on where you're saying, I identify 100 people. 10 of them might benefit, but 90 of them will probably not benefit from this intervention. And the assumption all the time is that the intervention doesn't do any harm, so that's okay. You've saved 10 people and the other 90 people have just gotten some good advice in health monitoring.

But of course, it's not as simple as that. Health monitoring in itself has problems.

But of course, it's not as simple as that. Health monitoring in itself has problems.

But of course, it's not as simple as that. Health monitoring in itself has problems.

Well, I mean, with regard to sort of if somebody notices a symptom and goes to the doctor, we do. You know, I'm certainly not advocating that they don't do that. The distinction I'm making is between us as a scientific and medical community seeking out patients who are asymptomatic. So I'm talking about asymptomatic cancers and asymptomatic hypertension patients. and asymptomatic prediabetes.

Well, I mean, with regard to sort of if somebody notices a symptom and goes to the doctor, we do. You know, I'm certainly not advocating that they don't do that. The distinction I'm making is between us as a scientific and medical community seeking out patients who are asymptomatic. So I'm talking about asymptomatic cancers and asymptomatic hypertension patients. and asymptomatic prediabetes.

Well, I mean, with regard to sort of if somebody notices a symptom and goes to the doctor, we do. You know, I'm certainly not advocating that they don't do that. The distinction I'm making is between us as a scientific and medical community seeking out patients who are asymptomatic. So I'm talking about asymptomatic cancers and asymptomatic hypertension patients. and asymptomatic prediabetes.

If we work really hard to try and find loads of asymptomatic people at risk of problems, we overdiagnose. But obviously, symptomatic disease is a completely different thing that does need to be taken more seriously. However...

If we work really hard to try and find loads of asymptomatic people at risk of problems, we overdiagnose. But obviously, symptomatic disease is a completely different thing that does need to be taken more seriously. However...