Health tests and health consultations reduced cardiovascular risk without psychological strain, increased healthcare utilization or increased costs

Abstract

Background: Few randomized controlled trials (RCT) have evaluated health tests and health consultations in primary care with a long follow-up period. The Ebeltoft Health Promotion Project (EHPP) evaluated health tests and health consultations over a period of 5 years in the frame of a health technology assessment. Objective: To review the results of EHPP. Design: RCT with a control group answering questionnaires and two intervention groups having questionnaires, a comprehensive health test with written advice followed by either a normal consultation on demand or a planned 45 minutes patient-centred consultation. Setting: Primary care. Participants: The target population was all 30—49 year old persons in the municipality of Ebeltoft, Denmark. Invitations were received by 2000 randomly selected persons. Intervention: A comprehensive biomedical health test including a cardiovascular risk score (CVRS) followed by written advice and health consultations. Main outcome measures: Biomedical measures, psychological measures, healthcare contacts, life years gained, direct and total health costs. Results: At baseline 75% participated. During the 5 years 85% participated at least once. Elevated CVRS was found in 19% in the control group compared to 10% in the intervention groups (p