World Health Day 2024
World Health Day 2024 is celebrated on April 7. The theme of Health Day is "My Health, My Right." Health in humans is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
The primary and most important component of health is regular physical activity – any bodily movement that requires muscle contraction and energy expenditure, whether it's walking, dancing, playing, or sports. Insufficient physical activity is one of the causes of many non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. It is a significant cause of global mortality. Movement is life!
The second component of health is nutrition. Currently, the percentage of obesity among people of both childhood and adult age is extremely high, which also affects the quality of health.
The World Health Organization recommends the following:
1. Maintain proper energy balance and a healthy weight.
2. Shift from consuming saturated fats to unsaturated fats (fish, flaxseeds, nuts, sesame and flaxseed oil, etc.).
3. Eliminate trans fatty acids from the diet.
4. Increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains.
5. Limit the intake of sugar and salt. Also, ensure the iodization of salt.
Adequate sleep is another component of health. It is an important factor that positively affects health, especially in our stressful times. Most healthy adults need 7-9 hours of sleep per night. However, some people can function normally after 6 hours of sleep. Others cannot be at their peak performance if they sleep less than 10 hours.
According to WHO statistics, over 10% of the population in developed countries suffers from insomnia. Chronic sleep deprivation leads to adverse consequences such as impaired memory, reduced immunity, weight gain, decreased work capacity, irritability, and the development of serious diseases.
What needs to be done to ensure healthy sleep?:
- The optimal bedtime is from 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM. On weekends, maintain the same schedule as on weekdays. Disrupting your daily routine leads to sleep disturbances.
When you get enough sleep, you become wiser, stronger, experience new emotions, and your immunity is restored. During sleep, all vital functions of the human body are normalized.
The next component of overall health is mental health— this is the successful fulfillment of mental functions, resulting in productive activity, establishing relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to changes and cope with adverse circumstances.
Strengthening mental health means increasing the resilience of individuals, families, and society as a whole, as well as overcoming factors and conditions that harm a person's mental state. Important factors in strengthening mental health include: a strong family, a sense of security, the opportunity to participate in community life, secure paid employment, good housing conditions, and support in difficult life situations.
It is scientifically proven today that the triggers (causes) of many common somatic diseases (peptic ulcer, diabetes mellitus, bronchial asthma, neurodermatitis, psoriasis, arterial hypertension, and others) are mental sphere disorders, therefore, treating them with purely somatic methods is insufficiently effective.
An example of the mutual influence of somatic and mental pathology is myocardial infarction and depression, which, along with smoking, lipid metabolism disorders, and other adverse factors, increases the risk of impaired blood supply to the heart muscle and exacerbates the course of myocardial infarction. The chances of survival for a patient with depression who has had a myocardial infarction are reduced by 2-3 times.
Among anxiety disorders, panic disorder is the most significant, the main manifestation of which is a panic attack, which closely resembles a heart attack and is a fairly common reason for calling an ambulance and seeking treatment for non-existent cardiac pathology.
The high level of alcoholization (alcohol consumption is one of the bad habits) in the population as a whole does not contribute to maintaining mental health, which is why, according to statistics, 20% of patients seek healthcare organizations for the treatment of somatic diseases (hepatitis or liver cirrhosis, chronic bronchopulmonary diseases, etc.). That is, these are diseases that a person could have avoided with a proper lifestyle.
Smoking is also considered one of the bad habits. Each cigarette smoked leaves a specific mark on the body. As a result, sooner or later, smokers develop pathological changes in the respiratory tract, heart, blood vessels, and gastrointestinal tract, leading to the development of serious diseases. Smoking causes various types of cancer, myocardial infarction, stroke, pulmonary embolism, atherosclerosis, blindness, deafness, obliterating endarteritis, impotence and frigidity, infertility, emphysema, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, destruction of tooth enamel, gastrointestinal diseases, congenital deformities, developmental delays, and premature death. Smoking is incompatible with a healthy lifestyle.
The fight against smoking is a fight for the health not only of smokers but also of those around them.
A harmful and dangerous habit is the use of pharmacological drugs, more commonly known as narcotics. Regardless of the method of administration into the body, all narcotics cause particularly dangerous harm to the nervous and immune systems, liver, heart, and lungs.
Smoking narcotic substances contributes to the development of chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, immune disorders, cardiovascular insufficiency, arrhythmia, and liver intoxication.
Intravenous administration of drugs carries an extremely high risk of contracting AIDS and hepatitis (B and C).
Volatile psychoactive substances (inhalants) contribute to the slowing of human mental development, disrupt the functioning of the cerebral cortex, and damage all organs and tissues of the body.
Another component of health is medical examination. MEDICAL EXAMINATION is a FREE step towards health and longevity. Medical examination is a comprehensive method of medical and preventive care for the population, aimed at the early detection of diseases and their risk factors. It includes a medical examination at the polyclinic at the place of residence, and if indicated, dynamic monitoring of a person's health status, promotion of a healthy lifestyle, fostering interest in one's health, and, naturally, instilling a sense of responsibility for one's health in the patient.
As of January 1, 2024, Resolution of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus No. 125 of August 30, 2023, "On the Procedure for Medical Examinations of the Adult and Child Population", has entered into force.
(Source of information: National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus).
The medical examination is aimed at:
- carrying out medical prevention;
- promoting a healthy lifestyle;
- fostering citizens' responsibility for their health;
- early detection of chronic non-communicable diseases.
The following groups for dispensary observation have been defined, within which medical examinations are conducted:
- adult population – from 18 to 39 years old and from 40 years old and older;
- child population – up to 1 year old and from 1 to 17 years old.
Medical examinations are conducted within:
- one working day:
- persons aged 18 to 40 years (once every three years);
- individuals who have reached the age of 40 (once a year);
- two working days once a year:
- individuals who have reached the general retirement age;
- individuals within five years of reaching the general retirement age.
Medical examinations are conducted by:
- the adult population – healthcare professionals in outpatient healthcare organizations at the place of residence (stay), work (study, service), and (or) other organizations that, in addition to their primary activities, also carry out medical activities in the manner prescribed by law;
- the child population – a district pediatrician or a general practitioner serving the child population in outpatient healthcare organizations and (or) other healthcare organizations.
Mobile forms of work, including the use of mobile paramedic and obstetric points, may be used for their conduct.
During the medical examination by healthcare professionals:
- patient's medical records are analyzed;
- patients are surveyed with the completion of a questionnaire to identify risk factors for non-communicable diseases;
- risk factors for the development of non-communicable diseases are assessed;
- a medical examination of the patient is carried out, and a decision is made on conducting additional diagnostics;
- a record card for conducting a medical examination of an adult or a record card for conducting a medical examination of a child is completed;
- patients are consulted on issues of medical prevention, promotion of a healthy lifestyle, and fostering citizens' responsibility for their health;
- other functions related to the conduct of the medical examination are performed.
According to the Instructions, when conducting medical examinations of the adult and child population, the results of medical examinations conducted by specialist doctors and medical interventions performed within twelve months preceding the month in which the medical examination is conducted are taken into account. Medical examinations of children are carried out primarily in their birth month.
The legal act establishes, among other things:
- medical examination schemes:
- for the adult population;
- for children under 1 year of age;
- for children aged 1 to 17 years;
Thus, regular medical examinations, physical activity, proper nutrition, adequate sleep, avoidance of bad habits, and increased psychological resilience will allow a person to live a long and healthy life.
State Institution "Rossonsky RCG&E", 2024