Health Screening by Age: A Decade-by-Decade Checklist
Your preventive plan should evolve every ten years. Here is the current evidence-based checklist for each life decade — organized so you can print it and bring it to your next assessment.
Your 20s: foundation
Baseline visit with vitals, BMI, and a focused history.
HPV vaccination catch-up if not completed.
Cervical screening (Pap) starting at 25 for people with a cervix.
STI screening based on sexual activity — chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, syphilis; hepatitis B/C if risk factors.
Mental health screening — anxiety and depression peak in this decade.
Blood pressure at least once.
Skin exam and mole map baseline if fair-skinned or family history of melanoma.
Your 30s: consolidation
Full baseline blood work: CBC, ferritin, TSH, glucose, lipid panel, vitamin D, B12, hepatic and renal panels.
Blood pressure annually.
Reproductive planning discussion — fertility, pre-conception, contraception.
Continue cervical screening; consider baseline Lp(a) once.
Mental health, sleep, alcohol screening.
Vaccination review (tetanus every 10 years).
Your 40s: the pivot decade
Comprehensive assessment yearly.
Fasting lipid panel with ApoB; Lp(a) once.
HbA1c or fasting glucose every 3 years, annually with risk factors.
Full thyroid panel with symptom-triggered anti-TPO.
Breast cancer screening discussion (mammography) — offered in the 40s under shared decision-making.
Bone health baseline for women with risk factors.
Hormone panel (testosterone in men; FSH, estradiol as indicated in women) — see Screening after 40.
Skin exam.
Your 50s: screening intensification
All 40s items plus:
Colorectal screening (FIT every 2 years, or colonoscopy every 10).
Mammography every 2 years (50–74 in PQDCS).
Prostate (PSA) discussion for men.
Shingles vaccination.
Menopausal transition assessment for women, andropause discussion for men.
Lung cancer screening (LDCT) if smoking history qualifies.
Your 60s and beyond
DEXA scan around 65 (earlier with risk factors).
Pneumococcal vaccination at 65.
Continued colorectal, breast (to 74), and PSA screening per discussion.
Cognitive screening annually or as clinically indicated.
Falls risk assessment, medication review (deprescribing), functional status.
Hearing and vision screening.
Build your age-adapted plan
An annual Complete Health Assessment converts this checklist into a written plan tailored to your age, risk profile, and goals. Book via the contact form.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an age when annual checkups become less important?+
No. The content changes but the value does not. In older adults the emphasis shifts toward function, cognition, medication safety, and cancer surveillance.