GROWING numbers of people are taking their health into their own hands and buying self-testing kits, a report said yesterday.

Sales of self-diagnosis kits, such as those for blood pressure and pregnancy testing, have risen by almost 30 per cent in five years.

This year, Britons are expected to spend £99 million on self- diagnostics as they face long waiting times for GP appointments and try to deal with health concerns themselves.

But experts warn such tests are never completely accurate, and the public may lack the skills to correctly interpret results.

Mintel, the market analysts responsible for the report, predicted that, by 2012, the value of the self-testing kit market will rise by 60 per cent to £158 million a year.

The biggest increase in sales so far has been in products to monitor obesity-related condition such as blood pressure and blood-glucose levels. The sector grew 55 per cent in five years to £34 million.

Sales of other products to monitor health, including heartbeat and body-fat testers, have also increased by 48 per cent to £15 million. Other popular kits were pregnancy tests, with £36 million worth of sales, and thermometers and ovulation tests, each with sales of £6 million.

A further £2.6 million was spent on tests such as those for sexually transmitted infections.

Alexandra Richmond, senior consumer analyst at Mintel, said: "We are constantly bombarded with health warnings and are becoming more aware of the growing obesity problem.

"This, combined with the fact people are finding it increasingly difficult to get a doctor's appointment, means many are choosing to go it alone when it comes to their health."

Ms Richmond said the internet and other media allowed people to become more educated about their health, meaning they felt more confident to self-diagnose.

However, Dr Ron Zimmern, of the Foundation for Genomics and Population Health, warned there were doubts over some available kits as "there is no test that is 100 per cent accurate". He added: "There will always be false positives and false negative results. If you think you have got high cholesterol, you might need treatment. That means you have to go to your doctor anyway, so why not just go and ask to be tested rather than buying the test and doing it yourself?

"One way in which these tests might be useful is if your doctor has told you that you have high blood pressure. You would then be able to monitor your blood pressure between visits to the doctor."

Dr Zimmern said there were issues surrounding the interpretation of the results and people should seek a medical opinion before taking action on the basis of a self-testing kit.

This article: http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1661652007

Published on: 18/10/2007

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