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According to a new study which was recently published, it seems that seeing to same doctor years after years might not only offer you more courage and the peace of seeing a familiar face. In fact, it may just help save your life. A team of scientists from the United Kingdom wanted to see whether or not always going to the same doctor affected people’s health in any way. So, they analyzed the results of 22 different studies from nine countries that have completely different health systems.
It seems that 18 of these studies reached the conclusion that people who always saw the same doctor had a significantly lower risk of dying early than those who changed their doctor more frequently. It’s worth noting that the studies used different way to study continuity, hence why a clear estimate of how decreased of mortality is cannot be done. A separate study, conducted on diabetes patients in Taiwan, found a similar result. Those with a low continuity were almost two times more likely to die early than those with a high continuity.
Seeing the same doctor over the years might save your life
However, why is this difference so big? And why does it matter so much which doctor you’re seeing, as long as you are seeing one? Well, the authors have tried to explain the link between a high continuity and lower death rates. It may be because people with lower incomes are forced to go from doctor to doctor, as opposed to those with higher incomes.
Also, previous studies have shown that people who always see the same doctor have a high level of trust and therefore are more likely to follow their advice. They also take more frequent immunisations and have fewer hospital admission throughout the course of their life.
Image source: flickr
