A controlled trial of multiphasic screening in middle-age: results of the South-East London Screening Study

South-East London Screening Study Group (Department of Community Medicine, St Thomas's Hospital and Medical School, London SE I I EH, England). A cont rolled trial of multiphasic screening in middle-age: results of the South-E ast London Screening Study, International Journal of Epidemiology 1977;6:3 57-63. The results of a controlled trial of multiphasic screening in genera l practice are presented. In 1967, 7229 individuals aged between 40 and 64 years were randomly allocated into either a Screening or Control group. The Screening group were invited to attend two screening sessions held about t wo years apart, while the Control group continued to receive conventional m edical care. Both groups were then invited to undergo a health survey in 19 72-73 which revealed no significant differences in morbidity between the tw o groups. Careful follow-up permitted detailed Screening-Control comparison s of various outcome measures-consultation and hospital admission rates, ce rtified sickness absence from work, and mortality. Nine years after the ini tial screening, no significant differences were found between the two group s in any of the outcome measures. It is estimated that a similar screening programme for the entire middle-aged UK population would cost pound 142 mil lion at 1976 prices.