Female Health Screening Guidelines, Ages 40 to 49

Screening tests are a key to managing your health. A screening test is done to find problems in people who don't have any symptoms. Screening tests are not used to diagnose. They are used to find out if more testing is needed. The goal may be to find a disease early so it can be treated with more success. Or the goal may be to find a disease early so you can make lifestyle changes. You may need regular checkups to help you reduce your risk of disease.

Below are guidelines for those ages 40 to 49. Talk with your doctor to stay up-to-date.

Screening	Who needs it	How often
Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes	All those in this age group	At least every 3 years
Type 2 diabetes	All those with prediabetes	Every year
Alcohol misuse	All those in this age group	At routine exams
Blood pressure	All those in this age group	Once a year if your blood pressure is normal. Normal is less than 120/80 mm Hg. If your blood pressure is higher than this, follow the advice of your doctor.
Breast cancer	All those at average risk in this age group. Expert groups vary on their advice. Talk with your doctor.	Talk with your doctor to help you decide when to start mammogram screening. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advises mammograms every other year starting at age 40. The American Cancer Society advises that those ages 40 to 44 have the choice to start yearly mammograms. They advise yearly mammograms for those ages 45 to 54. Everyone should know how their breasts normally look and feel.

Screening	Who needs it	How often
Cervical cancer	All those in this age group, unless they have had a complete hysterectomy	A primary human papillomavirus (HPV) test every 5 years, a cotest (an HPV test with a Pap test) every 5 years, or a Pap test every 3 years. In some cases, you may be able to collect your own HPV test sample and be tested every 3 years. Talk with your doctor about your risks and whether you need screening more often.
Colorectal cancer	Those ages 45 years and older at average risk	Talk with your doctor about which test is right for you: Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years Colonoscopy every 10 years CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) every 5 years Yearly fecal occult blood test Yearly fecal immunochemical test (FIT) Stool DNA test every 3 years If you have a test that is not a colonoscopy and have an abnormal test result, you will need a colonoscopy. You may need to be screened more or less often. This is based on personal or family health history. Talk with your doctor.

Screening

Who needs it

How often

Cervical cancer

All those in this age group, unless they have had a complete hysterectomy

A primary human papillomavirus (HPV) test every 5 years, a cotest (an HPV test with a Pap test) every 5 years, or a Pap test every 3 years. In some cases, you may be able to collect your own HPV test sample and be tested every 3 years. Talk with your doctor about your risks and whether you need screening more often.

Colorectal cancer

Those ages 45 years and older at average risk

Talk with your doctor about which test is right for you:

Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years
Colonoscopy every 10 years
CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) every 5 years
Yearly fecal occult blood test
Yearly fecal immunochemical test (FIT)
Stool DNA test every 3 years

If you have a test that is not a colonoscopy and have an abnormal test result, you will need a colonoscopy.

You may need to be screened more or less often. This is based on personal or family health history. Talk with your doctor.

Screening	Who needs it	How often
Chlamydia	Those at higher risk	At routine exams if you're at risk or have symptoms
Depression	All those in this age group	At routine exams
Gonorrhea	Sexually active people at higher risk	At routine exams
Hepatitis C	Those in this age group at higher risk	At routine exams
High cholesterol or triglycerides	All those ages 45 and older who are at risk for coronary artery disease. Those who are younger should talk with their doctor.	At least every 5 years
HIV	All those in this age group	At routine exams. Those with risk factors for HIV should be tested at least 1 time a year.
Obesity	All those in this age group	At routine exams
Syphilis	Those who are at higher risk. Ask your doctor.	At routine exams
Tuberculosis	Those who are at higher risk	Ask your doctor
Vision	All those in this age group	Full exam at age 40. Then eye exams every 2 to 4 years. If you have a chronic disease, ask your doctor how often you need an eye exam.

Health Counseling	Who needs it	How often
BRCA gene mutation testing for breast and ovarian cancer	Those with higher risk for a gene mutation	When your risk is known
Breast cancer and chemoprevention	Those at high risk for breast cancer	When your risk is known
Diet and exercise	Those who are overweight or who have obesity	When diagnosed, and then at routine exams
Domestic violence	All those in this age group	At routine exams
Sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention	Those who are at higher risk. Talk with your doctor.	At routine exams
Use of tobacco	All those in this age group	Every exam