Tracking Your Rate of Change

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) just published new recommendations for prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for men 55 and over. In effect, they don’t recommend PSA testing on a regular basis. I think that’s a mistake. I’ll cover the specifics for PSA testing during the Prostate Health webinar, but I think regular testing is important regardless of age for this reason: monitoring the rate of change.

Monitoring changes in medical tests does not just apply to PSA, it applies to just about every test: cholesterol levels, triglycerides, blood sugar, HbA1c, body weight, vitamin D. Even non-medical tests such as food intake. By monitoring changes, we can identify how each component of our health is changing, especially the rate at which they’re changing. It also tells us how well our lifestyle modifications are working. Those are valuable pieces of information.

No single number is important; it’s how that number fits in relation to other results of the same test that may be important. If it increases at a higher rate or at a faster rate, that may indicate a problem that needs to be addressed. Let’s say your PSA goes from 0.5 to 1.0 in a year. That’s a whole different story than if it went from 0.5 to 3.5 in a year; in that case, closer monitoring would be necessary. Same for your weight; if it went up two pounds in a year, your doctor probably wouldn’t be concerned. But if it went up 20 pounds in a year, something serious is happening and needs attention now.

I understand why the USPSTF took the position they did with PSA in those age groups: they want to prevent unnecessary tests and treatment. What they didn’t consider is that monitoring the rate of change could identify who needed to be treated now versus those who did not.

For those factors you can track for yourself, such as blood sugar if you’re prediabetic or a type 2 diabetic, fat intake, blood pressure, weight, and many others, you should make the effort. Those measurements can provide a lot of information for your health over time—information you can use to improve your health.

What are you prepared to do today?