Yes – you read that right!!
We are all obsessed with chronological age
– celebrating anniversaries, blowing candles, cutting cakes. But look around
you – has everyone around you aged uniformly?
Twenty years ago, I was a fairly unhealthy
35 year old. A freak soccer accident played havoc with my right knee – needing reconstructive
surgery. My exercise levels dropped, and I quickly put on 10 kgs.
Things changed for the better when I turned
40. I re-discovered my passion for the outdoors and learnt to play tennis. I will never climb Mt. Everest and will never
win even my condo tennis tournament – but that doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm. A
recent high point was when an online test declared my health age at 35 years! There
are large numbers of self-administered online tests that estimate your health
age based on your physical characteristics, activities and lifestyle – you
might like to try one just for fun.
Analytics today have evolved to the extent
of scientifically predicting your chance of having a cardiac
event in the next 5 years. Several “Risk Assessment” algorithms have been put
out by some of the best names in medicine
- Johns Hopkins’s ACG, the Framingham panels, the Minnesotta Tiering
methodology, Charlson Comorbidity measures, Kaiser’s Archimedes etc. Each of
them puts a number to your health risk – some translate the risk into money. The
algorithms are extremely complex, but most recognise that over 80 % of the
controllable risk can be attributed to 5 factors – excess body weight (BMI), Lipid
Profile, uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension, stress and smoking.
The George Institute for Global Health (TGI)
is a 4 - country organisation headquartered in Australia. The institute is known
for its research into population health and clinical excellence. In 2015, it was ranked among the leading ten research
institutions in the world for research impact by the SCImago
Institutions Rankings World Reports. TGI has
developed a proprietary risk stratification and management methodology and has embedded
it into a computer tool called “Healthtracker”. Healthtracker is a part of a suite of tools developed by TGI that, together, can link to medical records, extract data, dialogue with users and provide end-to-end solutions. Healthtracker quantifies cardiovascular risk and allows the
individual to take charge, in consultation with his doctor. A dial allows an
individual to set goals for diet, exercise, medication compliance and smoking
cessation – and to see how this helps dial down their healthcare risk. Healthtracker
paints some amazing pictures – for example, just cutting off smoking reduces
cardiac risk by 30 %. This is just a glimpse of what Articial Intelligence and Machine learning tools can do to improve healthcare
A word of caution though - these tools only work when they are correctly adapted to the health system / individual context. Most times, results are more directional than accurate - so the movement over time and action plans for sustained outcomes are more important than the absolute numbers.
A word of caution though - these tools only work when they are correctly adapted to the health system / individual context. Most times, results are more directional than accurate - so the movement over time and action plans for sustained outcomes are more important than the absolute numbers.
So, fellow 50 year olds – take heart. With
some effort you can go back to feeling the way and doing the things you did 20
years ago. Only you can take charge of your own health; adopt some simple
mantras
- Eat right; avoid processed foods, watch those lipids and your blood sugar
- Exercise regularly; stay light on your feet
- Find and practice your way to beat stress. Laugh; have fun; develop a hobby; make friends – it is never too late
- Stop smoking – NOW
Watch yourself grow younger – go on that magical hike, play a game with the
kids or finally indulge your love for outdoor photography. Life can be fun –
again!
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ReplyDeleteI’m overwhelmed! Thanks Harish!!
ReplyDelete☺️