When you’re aware of your risk for illness, you can make lifestyle changes, form healthier habits, and get additional medical screenings to prevent health problems. Health risk assessment questionnaires and reports are engaging, effective, and indispensable tools for managing employee health risk.
Why should you assess your health risks? Knowing your level of risk means you’ll know what medical issues to be on the lookout for so that you can lower your risk before you run into health problems. It may also allow you to find and treat these issues early, when you have the best chance of success.
What is a Health Risk?
A health risk refers to the odds that you will develop a medical condition like cancer, diabetes or depression. Not everyone is at the same risk level for the same conditions. You may have a greater or lesser chance of developing a medical problem compared to other people your age. Scientific research has taught us which factors in our lives will raise and lower the risk of developing specific diseases. Some risk factors, like smoking, affect your risk of having many different health issues. Other factors will increase your risk for only one issue. Past exposure to asbestos, for example, only puts you at risk for lung disease.
Which Factors Affect Your Risk?
Depending on the specific disease or condition, certain factors may raise your risk:
- Family history of a medical condition, such as a mother with breast cancer;
- Unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as drinking alcohol;
- A poor diet with low nutritional content;
- A medical history that includes past conditions (such as high blood pressure);
- A high level of stress and a low ability to cope with stressors;
- Your age or gender.
Other factors may lower your risk:
- Good lifestyle habits, such as physical activity and proper sleep;
- Eating a well-balanced diet;
- Being able to cope well with setbacks and stress;
- Engaging in good safety practices, like wearing a seat belt;
- Obtaining vaccinations against diseases.
Certain risk factors may be out of your control, like the heart disease that runs in your family, the number of sunburns you had as a child, or whether you’re male or female. But there may be other factors that you can do something about, such as getting regular exercise or wearing a bike helmet.
What Problems Can You Prevent?
When you’re aware of your disease risk, you have a golden opportunity to take action. You can make lifestyle changes, form healthier habits, or get additional medical screenings before you develop new health problems. Here are some examples of conditions you might be able to reduce your risk for, or even avoid altogether:
- Illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease;
- Musculoskeletal problems such as osteoporosis, back pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome;
- Mental health conditions such as depression. Mental illness may not be completely preventable, but there are ways to reduce its impact and symptoms.
Discovering Your Health Risks
Fortunately, there are many ways for you to learn about your personal health risks:
- Gather your family medical history. Ask your parents and siblings about any health problems they have, and the age they were when they were diagnosed.
- Use health risk assessment tools and screening questionnaires. Your employer or insurance company may provide these assessments and questionnaires free of charge.
- Get any recommended medical screening tests, such as cholesterol checks or mammograms.
- Do your own tracking. Check your weight, take your blood pressure regularly, and measure your waist circumference.
- Ask your doctor about your potential health risks.
- Consult other health professionals about your specific concerns. A dietitian can help you assess your eating habits. A dentist can discuss your risk of gum disease.
You might feel somewhat nervous as you become more aware of your personal health risks. Instead, why not think of this learning experience as a positive breakthrough? After all, knowledge is power – and in this case, it can help you stay healthier, live longer, and vastly improve your quality of life.
More insight into mental, physical and financial health here.
Key Websites
- Health Canada: Health Canada Decision – Making Framework for Identifying, Assessing, and Managing Health Risks
- Public Health Agency of Canada: Healthy Living
