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To avoid premature death, scientists advise not to run to doctors
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Scientists from the UK have managed to establish an interesting relationship: the degree of risk of premature death in some sense depends on how many doctors a person sees. In particular, scientists advise visiting one trusted doctor.
An experiment conducted by staff from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Exeter and St Leonards Practice Hospital has confirmed that long-term observation by one specialist can preserve not only health, but also life.
Lead specialist of the project, Denis Pereira Gray, and his colleagues conducted a detailed analysis of 22 results of previous studies that mentioned information about the consistency of medical observation and the degree of premature mortality.
“As we saw, the advantages of constant medical observation are that the doctor and patient meet regularly and know a lot about each other. Such communication is more effective, trusting and frank,” the specialists say. The scientists suggested that such trusting relationships can have a positive effect not only on health, but also on the quality and duration of life of patients.
The analysed studies included information about patients from different countries, with different approaches to healthcare, with different cultures. This experiment can actually be called multinational.
Scientists have found that in more than 80% of cases, regular observation by a regular doctor coincided with a low mortality rate for patients. This relationship was established regardless of the doctor's specialization: it could be a surgeon or even a psychiatrist.
According to experts, the true reason for this phenomenon is trust between the patient and the doctor, and both parties benefit from it.
"Everyone knows that the degree of trust in a particular doctor largely determines how much the patient will listen to medical advice and follow all recommendations," the experts note.
Until now, visiting a regular doctor was associated only with greater comfort for the patient himself, as well as with a certain amount of politeness. Now scientists have added advantages: it turns out that a permanent "observer" of health guarantees the quality of medical care provided, as well as the patient's peace of mind and confidence.
The results of the experiment confirmed a long-standing opinion: a good doctor is, first of all, a specialist whom you can and want to trust. The main thing is to find exactly such a doctor, which, you must admit, is not so easy.
Details of the experiment can be read on the pages of the scientific publication BMJ Open.