Screening Tests for Health

Cardiovascular

√  High blood pressure

• Adults, age 18 and older should be screened for high blood pressure, at least every 2 years

√  High cholesterol                                                                                      

• Cholesterol testing should be done in men 35 years and older and women 45 years and older who have heart disease risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family history of cardiovascular disease.

√  Diabetes

• Anyone 45 years of age or older should consider getting tested for diabetes.
  • If you are younger than 45, overweight, and have one or more risk factors (ex. overweight, physical inactivity, family history, ethnic minority [African American, Hispanic, Native American], high blood pressure, or high cholesterol), you should also be screened for diabetes.

Cancer

√   Women:  Breast and cervical cancer

• Breast cancer:  Women should have a yearly clinical breast exam by a doctor to feel for any lumps and bumps.  If there is a history of breast cancer in your family, you should get the first mammogram 10 years before your relative was diagnosed.
  • Starting at age 40, a mammogram (breast X-ray) should be done every one or two years.  
  • Women older than 50 should have yearly mammograms.
• Cervical cancer:  Cervical cancer was once the leading cause of death for women in the U.S., but the widespread use of the pap test has significantly decreased deaths from this cancer.
  • According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, after becoming sexually active for three years or by age 21, women need an annual pap test to detect any abnormal cell changes that could lead to cervical cancer.  The pap test should be done yearly until age 30; after 30, if a healthy woman has had three completely normal pap tests, she may be able to have a pap test every two to three years (but should still see a gynecologist every year for an exam).

√    Men:  Prostate and colorectal cancer

• Prostate cancer: In men 50 years and older, the use of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test along with a digital rectal exam can help detect prostate cancer.
  • In high risk men (ex. African American men and men who have a first-degree relative [father, brother, or son] diagnosed with prostate cancer younger than age 65), the screening discussion should begin at age 40 for these men at high risk of developing prostate cancer.
• Colorectal cancer: According to the American Cancer Society, beginning at age 50, men and women should have a colonoscopy every 10 years.
  • If you have a family history of colorectal cancer, you may need to be screened earlier.
  • A colonoscopy allows a doctor to view the inside of the entire colon for signs of cancer or polyps or small growths that can eventually become cancerous.

Osteoporosis:  Condition of increased susceptibility to fractures due to fragile bones.

√   Beginning at age 65, women should be screened routinely for osteoporosis.

• Screening should begin at age 60 for women who are at increased risk for fractures (ex. family history of fractures, Caucasian, slender frame, history of smoking or alcohol abuse)

1. Health Screening: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthscreening.html
2. Screening Tests and Vaccines:  http://www.womenshealth.gov/screening-tests-and-vaccines/