Objective: To study the potential impact of health screening, with or without a motivational health dialogue, on the risk and morbidity of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes (DM).
Design: Two cross-sectional studies with an interval of 11 years.
Setting: The community of Härnösand, Sweden.
Subjects: In the first study, 402 men born in 1934, 1944, or 1954 underwent health screening for CVD prevention in 1989. In the second study, 415 men (of the same ages) completed a questionnaire in 2000 (11 years later).
Main outcome measures: Odds ratio (OR) for self-reported CVD and DM.
Results: The odds ratio of self-reported CVD and DM was more than doubled among participants in the health screening without a health dialogue (OR 2.5; 95% CI 0.8-7.4) and threefold for those not participating (OR 3.0; 95% CI 1.0-8.8) compared with those who reported participation in health screening that included a structured health dialogue.
Conclusions: Health screening for the prevention of CVD and DM benefits from inclusion of a structured, motivational health dialogue.