HEALTH

W

ith the new year comes a host
of promising health trends
emerging within the medical
community. New tests, diagnostics and
advancements are streamlining the patient
experience and helping people take charge
of their physical and mental health.
Dr. Sandra Lerner, D.O., a Jewish
Southfield-based family medicine doctor,
discusses the top health trends the medical
community is expecting to see in 2024 and
why they matter.

INCREASED FOCUS ON LONGEVITY
Longevity science is learning more and
more about proteins that can predict lon-
gevity, or the length of life. Now, Lerner says
that advancements in blood tests can test
“subtle” markers that have some bearing on
inflammatory levels in the body; research
shows that suppressing chronic or long-term
inflammation can promote successful lon-
gevity.
So, what exactly are these tests looking
for and why? Certain inflammatory mark-
ers can now predict the risk of Alzheimer’s
disease or a person’s immediate cardiovas-
cular (or heart health) risk. Lerner says
there’s also more attention being paid to the
breakdown of cholesterol in the body, which
is linked to inflammation and, therefore,
longevity.
Most of these tests aren’t part of routine
testing covered in a physical, which means
they aren’t readily covered by insurance.
However, their emergence is a promising
sign of the evolution of health testing in
longevity. Availability of these tests may vary
from physician to physician, so interested
individuals should speak to their doctors.

AT-HOME SLEEP APNEA TESTING
Sleep apnea is a common condition in
which your breathing stops and restarts

while sleeping. Lerner says that sleep
apnea may come with preconceptions,
such as only affecting older men who
are obese. However, she cautions this is
far from true.
Lerner says that 50% of women over
the age of 50 have sleep apnea (though
some studies predict a much larger age
range of 20-70 years of age). Many of
these women may not even know they
have sleep apnea but face significant
sleep disruptions that can affect their
wellbeing, risk of depression and anxi-
ety, and overall health.
In previous years, sleep apnea testing
was typically done at a sleep clinic, which
not only can have months-long waits for an
appointment but also can place significant
stress on patients. Between sleeping in an
unknown environment, to being hooked up to
wires, clinical sleep apnea testing might steer
people away from getting tested altogether.
Now, more and more services are offering
at-home sleep apnea testing, which allows
people to complete the actual testing por-
tion at home, as well as be fitted for a CPAP
machine if a machine is required to help open
the airways.
There are also less bulky treatment options
available for sleep apnea, Lerner says, such
as implantable devices that allow tissues to
respond during low-oxygen episodes. An
increased use of sleep-tracking devices like
Aura can also help pinpoint sleep apnea.

IMPROVEMENTS IN DIAGNOSTICS
New advancements in diagnostics are mak-
ing waves in 2024. These include advanced
genetic testing for obesity, which is helping
to break the stigma surrounding the disease.
“It’s not a condition where we just have poor
willpower,” Lerner says. “[These tests] start to
create the sense of, ‘This is a condition I need
to manage like other health conditions.’”

Full-body MRIs are also now being
offered at more and more clinics, which
Lerner explains are affordable and readily
available for the first time. “It diagnoses
everything from degenerative disc disease to
lethal cancers that can be treated early,” she
says.
MRIs also have less radiation than other
diagnostic tests, making them a safer option
for many. One patient, she explains, was
able to discover a kidney tumor that was
removed just in time thanks to the availabil-
ity of a full-body MRI scan.
Multi-cancer early genetic screening tests
like the Galleri test can also screen for more
than 50 types of cancer from a single blood
test. As emerging trends, Lerner explains
many of these tests still aren’t covered by
insurance but are a worthwhile option for
people curious about their health or with
elevated risks for certain diseases.
“These trends are ahead of the curve,”
she says, but the hope is their continued
widespread use will lead to their insurance
coverage down the line. For now, 2024 is
shaping up to be a promising year with
numerous advancements improving health-
care.

Southfield doctor breaks down this
year’s main medical advancements.

Top Health Trends
of 2024

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

28 | JANUARY 25 • 2024 J
N

Dr. Sandra Lerner