Innovative Test Predicts Chronic Conditions
In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that approximately half of all U.S. adults (117 Million people) experienced at least one chronic health condition. They reported that the most common chronic conditions included obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. New research proposes a test that can be used to accurately predict the risk of chronic conditions and diseases.
The results of the Medscape survey generally followed the AAFP vote, with almost two thirds of physicians from multiple specialties said they “strongly agreed” or “somewhat agreed”, and 19% saying they “strongly disagreed”. The balance had no opinion. Nurse opinions followed the same statistics.
Researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City, UT have developed a test to measure the risk of chronic illness. Dr. Heidi May, Ph.D., a cardiovascular epidemiologist at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute, presented her findings recently at the American College of Cardiology's 66th Annual Scientific Session in Washington, D.C.
The risk score, called the Intermountain Chronic Disease Risk Score (ICHRON), is the result of routine blood tests combined with the age of the patients in primary care. According to the researchers, it can predict who will receive their first diagnosis of a chronic disease within 3 years of the test.