Let’s review some important preventive health guidelines for adult men and women. Talk to your doctor about what you need to have ordered to get up to date with all of your recommended preventive health screenings.
Your individual preventive health and cancer screening recommendations will depend upon your personal history, family history and genetic testing results.
Please note: many city, county and state health departments have low cost or free preventive health and cancer screening programs.
CANCER SCREENING for people at average risk
Breast cancer screening
An annual mammogram is recommended for women starting at age 40. Depending on your personal and family history, you may need additional risk assessment, genetic testing or alternative screening choices. (ACS American Cancer Society guidelines)
Cervical cancer screening (ACS Guidelines)
- Pap test every 3 years from age 25-29
- From age 30-65
- HPV test alone every 5 years OR
- Pap test alone every 3 years OR
- Pap test with HPV every 5 years
Colon (colorectal) cancer screening
The standard screening test is a colonoscopy starting at age 45, however there are other screening test options. (ACS Guidelines)
Prostate cancer screening (ACS Guidelines)
- A PSA blood test at age 50
- A PSA blood test at age 45 for men at high risk, including African-American men and men who have/had a direct family member with prostate cancer. Men should start even earlier at age 40, if they have even higher risk.
Lung cancer screening
An annual low dose CT scan of the chest is recommended for people between age 50-80 who smoked or used to smoke at least 20 pack years (the equivalent of one pack per day for 20 years). (ACS Guidelines)
OTHER RECOMMENDED SCREENINGS
Screening for osteoporosis
A bone density test should be done in women at least at age 65 to screen for osteoporosis, a bone condition that can put you at increased risk for hip and spine fractures. (U.S Preventive Services Task Force)
Abdominal aorta aneurysm screening
A one time ultrasound of the abdominal aorta is recommended for men aged 65-75 who have EVER SMOKED to look for an aneurysm that can break open, bleed and cause even fatal complications. (U.S Preventive Services Task Force)
STI (sexually transmitted infecton) screening
Checking for HIV at least once in all adults is recommended. Checking for Hepatitis C is recommended for all adults. Checking for other infections and especially Hepatitis B and syphilis infections is also recommended for many people. These are all infections that you can have for many years where damage to your organs can be happening without you having any symptoms. (Center for Disease Control)
ADULT IMMUNIZATIONS/VACCINATIONS -table for some vaccinations recommended for adults in good health. Your recommendations will be different if you have personal health factors (pregnancy, immunocompromised, autoimmune disorders, cancer and other conditions) that make you (or your unborn child) at high risk for infections (see easy to read CDC table).
| Influenza vaccine (Flu shot) | Every Fall |
| COVID-19 vaccine | At least one dose of the current COVID 19 vaccine, 65 and older, 2 doses, per CDC Guidelines |
| RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine | Age 19-49, if pregnant during RSV season, age 75 and older |
| Shingles (varicella zoster virus) vaccine | Age 50 and older |
| Pneumonia (pneumonococcal) vaccine | Age 50 and older |
| HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine | Age 19-26, some up to age 45 |
| Tdap/Td vaccine (tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis shot) | All adults every 10 years |
| Hepatitis B vaccine | Age 19-59, some age 60 and older |
Knowing these numbers goes a long way to preventing cardiovascular disease, like heart attack and stroke.
- Blood pressure
Should be checked at least once a year, if normal and at every visit, if abnormal.
- Cholesterol
Cholesterol (lipids) is a fat substance that circulates in the body to help with many cell functions.
- You should have your cholesterol checked at least every 5 years, if normal and more often if you have any abnormal numbers or are taking cholesterol/lipid lowering medication.
- There are three main components of the cholesterol/lipid profile to know:
- HDL-the good cholesterol
- LDL-the bad cholesterol. Your LDL should be 100 or less and less than 70 if you have diabetes, heart attack or stroke already.
- Triglycerides-fat in the blood. A triglyceride level of 150 or above needs treatment with at least improving diet and exercise and levels above 500 warrant treatment with prescription medication!
- If you are age 40 or older, your doctor should also do a risk assessment calculation (ASCVD Risk Score) using the results of your lipid panel and other variables to further assess your risk for heart attack and stroke.
- Talk to your doctor about getting a separate Lp(a) test and other advanced lipid testing blood tests to see if you have genetic lipid markers that put you at high risk for heart attack. (Information about Lp(a) levels).
- Glucose (blood sugar) (American Diabetes Association)
Screening for diabetes should be done at least every 3 years with a Hemoglobin A1C blood test. The Hemoglobin A1C is how much sugar is riding around on your red blood cells. A normal Hemoglobin A1C is 5.6% or less. Pre-diabetes is defined by a Hemoglobin A1C (HgbA1C) between 5.7% and 6.4%. Type II Diabetes is currently defined as when the Hemoglobin A1C gets to 6.5% or above.
WHAT YOU EAT MOVES THE NEEDLE TOWARD BETTER HEALTH!
Pick one unhealthy eating habit that you have and make a plan to improve it by making consistent lifestyle changes. This cookbook from the Association of Black Cardiologists is an excellent guide for your life journey to healthy cooking and eating.
Author Bio:
Bonita Coe, MD, MBA is a practicing Internal Medicine/primary care physician with over 25 years of experience taking care of adult patients in outpatient (in-person and virtual), nursing home and hospital settings, including academic practices teaching medical students and residents.
She has done numerous speaking engagements (in person, radio, webinars) for laypersons, colleagues and corporate audiences over the course of her career about topics informing audiences about preventive health, chronic disease and lifestyle management. Since October 2023, she has been writing a monthly health newsletter posted on her website, besthealthforyourlife.com, on important health related topics and she published her first book in November 2024, How To Help Your Doctor Help You: A Guide For Men and Women to Manage Health Proactively, a practical guide designed to empower individuals to better manage their health, build stronger patient-doctor relationships, and enhance their overall well-being. Her book can be ordered from your local bookseller or online at Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million or Amazon.
