This post was written by Tori Chess, CHWC, well-being coordinator, Workplace Wellness, Parkview Employer Solutions.
Participating in wellness screenings is a great way to look at your overall health. A wellness screening generally consists of routine blood work and biometrics (body measurements). These results can inform you of your current state of well-being so that you can assess any necessary lifestyle adjustments or conversations with your primary care provider.
One of the biggest advantages of following a preventive approach is that it may provide early indicators of a potential diagnosis, perhaps even before you notice symptoms. Since wellness screenings are preventative, they should be completed once a year. This cadence can help your healthcare team detect diseases in their early stages, assess your risk for certain conditions, and help you make positive lifestyle choices that protect your overall health and well-being.
What to expect at a wellness screening
There are numerous options for completing a wellness screening, including your physician’s office, most lab locations and, for some, at work! Many places of business offer onsite health and wellness screenings for their employees. (If yours doesn’t, consider requesting one.)
Wellness screenings take about 10-15 minutes. During this time, you will have your biometrics (height, weight, blood pressure and waist circumference) taken and a blood draw completed.
Common tests
Some common routine blood tests include:
- Lipid panel
- A1C glycohemoglobin (A1C)
- Comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP)
- Complete blood cell count (CBC)
- Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
- Prostate-specific antigen (PSA)
Your primary care provider or healthcare team can work with you to determine which screening tests are appropriate for you.
Screenings, by the numbers
Blood pressure: The top number (systolic) is the pressure inside your arteries when your heart is contracting. The bottom number (diastolic) is the pressure inside your arteries when your heart is relaxed. High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. Regular blood pressure checks are important as many people may have high blood pressure and no symptoms until a serious event occurs.
A normal blood pressure reading is: less than 120/80
Body mass index (BMI): BMI is a number ratio based on your height and weight that can be used by your primary care provider, along with other information like waist circumference, to assess whether you are at a healthy weight.
A normal BMI reading is: 18.5 – 24.9
Lipid panel: A lipid panel measures your cholesterol. Cholesterol is a necessary substance found in your blood. It comes from eating animal products such as meat, poultry and full-fat dairy and is made by your liver. HDL (good) cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides (fat found in the blood) are all measured in a lipid panel. Elevated cholesterol is a controllable risk factor for coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
Normal total cholesterol levels are: less than 200 mg/dl
Normal HDL (good) cholesterol levels are: greater than 40 mg/dl
Normal LDL (bad) cholesterol levels are: less than 130 mg/dl
Normal triglyceride levels are: less than 150 mg/dl
A1C Glycohemoglobin: Hemoglobin A1C is a blood test that determines if you have a higher-than-normal percentage of red blood cells with glucose (sugar) attached to them. The result reflects your average blood sugar level for the past two-three months and can be used to diagnose diabetes.
Normal A1C levels are: less than 5.7%
Comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP): CMP measures 14 different substances in your blood. It provides information about your body’s chemical balance and metabolism, or how your body transforms the food you eat into energy.
A CMP includes:
- electrolytes (sodium, potassium, bicarbonate and chloride)
- liver enzymes (alkaline phosphatase (ALP)
- alanine transaminase (ALT)
- aspartate aminotransferase (AST)
- glucose (sugar)
- calcium
- total protein
- bilirubin
- blood urea nitrogen (BUN)
- creatinine
- albumin
Normal sodium levels are: 134-146 mmol/L
Normal potassium levels are: 3.6-5.1 mmol/L
Normal bicarbonate levels are: 21-29 mmol/L
Normal chloride levels are: 98-107 mmol/L
Normal ALP levels are: 40-110 U/L
Normal ALT levels are: 10-35 U/L
Normal AST levels are: 10-35 U/L
Normal glucose levels are: 70-99 gm/dL
Normal calcium levels are: 8.5-10.3 gm/dL
Normal total protein levels are: 6.3-8.2 g/dL
Normal bilirubin levels are: 0.0-1.0 mg/dL
Normal BUN levels are: 7-18 mg/dL
Normal creatinine levels are: 0.60 -1.10 gm/dL
Normal albumin levels are: 3.4-5.0 g/dL
Complete blood cell count (CBC): A CBC measures and counts your blood cells. Checking your blood cell counts and measures helps detect abnormalities in your blood, diagnose or monitor disorders, conditions or infections, evaluate your overall health, monitor blood diseases, check medication side effects and adjust treatment plans.
The following are included in a CBC:
- white blood cells
- red blood cells
- hematocrit
- platelets
- hemoglobin
Normal adult white blood cell levels are: 3.4-10.5 th/uL
Normal red blood cell levels are: 4.00-5.20 mi/uL
Normal hematocrit levels are: 35% - 48%
Normal platelet levels are: 150-450 th/uL
Normal hemoglobin levels are: 12.0-15.5 g/dL
Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH): Your thyroid is essential in maintaining your body’s metabolic rate, or the speed at which your body transforms the food you eat into energy and uses it. It also maintains your heart and digestive functions, muscle control, brain development and bone maintenance. In most cases, irregular TSH levels mean there is an issue with your thyroid. It is either producing too or too little thyroid hormone.
A normal TSH level for adults is: 0.25-4.5 ulU/mL
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA): PSA is a protein produced by tissues in the prostate. A PSA test is a tool used to screen for early signs of prostate cancer. This is tested in males over the age of 55 or with a family history of prostate cancer, enlarged prostate or an inflamed prostate.
A normal PSA result is: 0.0-4.0 ng/mL
Most results are available for you to view within 24-48 hours of your wellness screening. Whether your results are normal or out of range, you should go over the results with your primary care provider or healthcare team. They can collaborate with you to create a plan to improve your overall health and well-being based on the results of your wellness screening. This plan can include positive lifestyle and behavior changes or medications to get you feeling like your best self.
Employee resources to support a healthy workforce
Parkview Employer Solutions partners with area businesses, delivering innovative services to improve the health and well-being of employees including Workplace Wellness, Occupational Health, Employee Assistance Programs, Proactive Injury Care, Employer Clinics, Diabetes Care Direct and more. Contact [email protected] for additional information.
For health fairs and screening events in your area, browse our list of Classes & Events.
