Background: Whereas the concept of normal levels of various parameters is extensively used in medical practice, the concept of optimal levels has not received much attention. We propose that it is time to pay attention to the optimal levels so that positive health can be measured. Objective: The objective is to define optimal levels of medical parameters as that combination which prevents the occurrence of ailments or gives strength to fight these ailments if they occur. Methods: A large number of articles and other literature was reviewed in search of medical parameters and their levels that could be considered to indicate optimal levels. Result: The optimal combination of medical parameters that prevents occurrence of ailments and gives strength to fight if an ailment occurs, is conceptually beyond the ‘normal’ levels that we use in everyday clinical practice and can be considered to indicate positive health. This is illustrated with the help of several examples after dividing the concept of positive health into five domains on the pattern of quality-of-life assessment. Conclusion: A concept of positive health has been proposed and its link to the optimal level of medical parameters is described. We plead that more efforts be made to identify the positive parameters of health, and their optimal levels that measure positive health be delineated.
| Published in | American Journal of Internal Medicine (Volume 9, Issue 4) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajim.20210904.12 |
| Page(s) | 166-170 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Beyond Normal, Normal Levels, Optimal Levels, Positive Health
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APA Style
Abhaya Indrayan, Gayatri Vishwakarma, Sanjeev Sarmukaddam, Saumya Verma. (2021). Beyond “Normal”: Optimal Levels of Medical Parameters for Assessing Positive Health. American Journal of Internal Medicine, 9(4), 166-170. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20210904.12
ACS Style
Abhaya Indrayan; Gayatri Vishwakarma; Sanjeev Sarmukaddam; Saumya Verma. Beyond “Normal”: Optimal Levels of Medical Parameters for Assessing Positive Health. Am. J. Intern. Med. 2021, 9(4), 166-170. doi: 10.11648/j.ajim.20210904.12
AMA Style
Abhaya Indrayan, Gayatri Vishwakarma, Sanjeev Sarmukaddam, Saumya Verma. Beyond “Normal”: Optimal Levels of Medical Parameters for Assessing Positive Health. Am J Intern Med. 2021;9(4):166-170. doi: 10.11648/j.ajim.20210904.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajim.20210904.12,
author = {Abhaya Indrayan and Gayatri Vishwakarma and Sanjeev Sarmukaddam and Saumya Verma},
title = {Beyond “Normal”: Optimal Levels of Medical Parameters for Assessing Positive Health},
journal = {American Journal of Internal Medicine},
volume = {9},
number = {4},
pages = {166-170},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajim.20210904.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20210904.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajim.20210904.12},
abstract = {Background: Whereas the concept of normal levels of various parameters is extensively used in medical practice, the concept of optimal levels has not received much attention. We propose that it is time to pay attention to the optimal levels so that positive health can be measured. Objective: The objective is to define optimal levels of medical parameters as that combination which prevents the occurrence of ailments or gives strength to fight these ailments if they occur. Methods: A large number of articles and other literature was reviewed in search of medical parameters and their levels that could be considered to indicate optimal levels. Result: The optimal combination of medical parameters that prevents occurrence of ailments and gives strength to fight if an ailment occurs, is conceptually beyond the ‘normal’ levels that we use in everyday clinical practice and can be considered to indicate positive health. This is illustrated with the help of several examples after dividing the concept of positive health into five domains on the pattern of quality-of-life assessment. Conclusion: A concept of positive health has been proposed and its link to the optimal level of medical parameters is described. We plead that more efforts be made to identify the positive parameters of health, and their optimal levels that measure positive health be delineated.},
year = {2021}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Beyond “Normal”: Optimal Levels of Medical Parameters for Assessing Positive Health AU - Abhaya Indrayan AU - Gayatri Vishwakarma AU - Sanjeev Sarmukaddam AU - Saumya Verma Y1 - 2021/06/30 PY - 2021 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20210904.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajim.20210904.12 T2 - American Journal of Internal Medicine JF - American Journal of Internal Medicine JO - American Journal of Internal Medicine SP - 166 EP - 170 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-4324 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20210904.12 AB - Background: Whereas the concept of normal levels of various parameters is extensively used in medical practice, the concept of optimal levels has not received much attention. We propose that it is time to pay attention to the optimal levels so that positive health can be measured. Objective: The objective is to define optimal levels of medical parameters as that combination which prevents the occurrence of ailments or gives strength to fight these ailments if they occur. Methods: A large number of articles and other literature was reviewed in search of medical parameters and their levels that could be considered to indicate optimal levels. Result: The optimal combination of medical parameters that prevents occurrence of ailments and gives strength to fight if an ailment occurs, is conceptually beyond the ‘normal’ levels that we use in everyday clinical practice and can be considered to indicate positive health. This is illustrated with the help of several examples after dividing the concept of positive health into five domains on the pattern of quality-of-life assessment. Conclusion: A concept of positive health has been proposed and its link to the optimal level of medical parameters is described. We plead that more efforts be made to identify the positive parameters of health, and their optimal levels that measure positive health be delineated. VL - 9 IS - 4 ER -
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