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Blood testing has become increasingly popular as part of the growing interest in health, wellness and longevity.
Mel
Blood testing has become increasingly popular as part of the growing interest in health, wellness and longevity.
We can now measure an extraordinary number of biomarkers, and private blood testing makes many of these tests readily accessible.
But does having more blood tests automatically give us a better understanding of our health?
Not necessarily.
Used appropriately, blood tests can provide useful information. But they are only one part of a much bigger picture.
Depending on the test selected, blood tests can measure markers relating to cholesterol and cardiovascular risk, blood glucose, liver and kidney function, thyroid function, nutritional status, inflammation, hormones and blood cells.
These results can sometimes identify something that warrants further investigation or provide useful information alongside other aspects of someone’s health.
But a blood result should never be considered in isolation.
Laboratory reference ranges are generally based on values found within a defined proportion of a population.
A result falling slightly outside a reference range doesn’t therefore automatically indicate disease. Equally, having every result within the reference range doesn’t necessarily mean someone is completely healthy.
Results can also be affected by factors such as illness, medication, hydration, exercise and timing.
This is why clinical context matters.
It’s tempting to think that testing as many biomarkers as possible must give us a more comprehensive picture of our health.
But every additional test creates another opportunity to find a result outside a reference range.
Sometimes that finding is important. Sometimes it isn’t.
Good testing should therefore start with a question:
What are we trying to find out, and will the result potentially change what happens next?
Some of the most useful information relating to long-term health isn’t particularly exotic.
Blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose and other established cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors can tell us far more about future health risk than many fashionable “longevity biomarkers”.
Blood testing may therefore form part of understanding our health as we age.
But it doesn’t measure ageing itself, and no single blood test can tell us exactly how quickly somebody is ageing or predict how long they will live.
An abnormal result may need to be discussed with an appropriate healthcare professional.
Depending on the result and individual circumstances, that may mean speaking to your GP or another suitably qualified clinician who can consider it alongside your medical history, symptoms, medications and other relevant information.
A blood test can provide information.
It doesn’t replace clinical assessment.
Private blood testing is available at Maverick through Goodbody.
Maverick provides the blood sample collection service. Laboratory testing, reporting and the associated clinical service are provided through Goodbody and its laboratory partners.
My aim is to make access to private blood testing straightforward while being clear about what testing can — and cannot — tell us.
I don’t believe in testing simply for the sake of collecting more numbers.
Blood tests can be useful, but some of the strongest evidence for supporting our health as we age still relates to familiar things: regular physical activity, maintaining muscle and strength, good nutrition, adequate sleep, avoiding smoking and managing established cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors.
There is no blood test that replaces those things.
Testing can give us information. What matters is how appropriately that information is used.
Explore Blood Tests at Maverick for details of the available Goodbody blood-test panels and how to book.
For a wider look at the evidence around maintaining health as we age, read Healthy Ageing: What Actually Has Good Evidence?