The My Vanderbilt Health guide to your 30s (and 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond)

Know what screenings and more are recommended for you, by age.

Some of the most important tests you’ll ever take are health screenings, because they could save your life. But it can be hard to remember exactly what you need when.

To that end, we’ve compiled the best My Vanderbilt Health advice and guidelines on recommended medical tests by age.

But that’s not where your wellness strategies end. In addition, remember to get your flu shot every year. Keep your primary care physician or advance practice provider updated about any changes in your medical history and your family’s medical history. Your health care provider can advise you, if necessary, to get screenings earlier than typically recommended, if you’re at high risk for a certain problem.

In your 30s

Now’s the time to correct any unhealthy habits that have lingered from your teens or 20s and take charge of your health for the years ahead.

• If tobacco use is one of them and you haven’t quit, ask your doctor for help with a plan to quit tobacco.
• If you are at risk for contracting a sexually transmitted infection, talk to your doctor about how often you should get tested and how to prevent these infections.
• Ask your health care provider how often you need your cholesterol levels and blood pressure checked, based on your previous results or risk factors. Stay on top of your heart health with healthy lifestyle changes if necessary, and get screened for diabetes if you’re at risk.
• Review your prior immunizations with your provider and catch up on any vaccinations that may have been missed or that you are due for, such as tetanus and hepatitis B. 
• Protect your skin from the sun, and see a dermatologist if you notice skin changes.
• Women: Continue seeing your gynecologist. Follow the schedule your doctor recommends for getting routine Pap smears.

In your 40s

Stay active and follow a heart-healthy diet as you enter middle age. Now’s the time where you’ll also possibly be caring for your aging parents in addition to staying on top of your own health. Stick to any recommended screening schedules set up in your 30s. Plus, add the following to your must-dos:

• Start colon cancer screening at age 45 and repeat getting screened on a schedule recommended by your provider. If you have a family history of colorectal cancer, your doctor may recommend getting checked for colon cancer even earlier.
• Women: Start getting screened for breast cancer with mammograms. If you have risk factors for breast cancer, your doctor may recommend getting a mammogram earlier and sometimes even supplementing the mammogram with a breast MRI. You should have a conversation with your health care provider and discuss your risk factors if you haven’t already.

In your 50s

Keep up with all of your healthy habits in your 50s, including getting regular exercise. While important at any age, take extra care to prevent back pain during yard work or holiday decorating and the aches and pains of repetitive movements from hobbies. Add the following screenings to your schedule:

• Schedule a lung cancer screening if you’re at high risk: Adults aged 50 to 80 years who have a 20-pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years. (A 20 pack-year smoking history means smoking a pack of cigarettes per day for 20 years, or an equivalent exposure.)
• Get a pneumococcal vaccine at age 50 to prevent pneumonia. If you are at higher risk, you may decide to start this vaccine earlier. 
• Get the shingles vaccine, to avoid a painful rash and other complications that can come from shingles, an illness triggered by the same virus that caused you to have chicken pox when you were a child. (Almost everyone in the U.S. over the age of 50 had chicken pox in their youth.) Some individuals at risk for shingles may decide to start this vaccination earlier.  
• Men: Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of screening for prostate cancer, and when to start. Men at higher than normal risk for prostate cancer should consider screening earlier. 

In your 60s+

Although you might be busy preparing for retirement or enjoying the fun of being a new grandparent, it’s important to focus on your health, too. Keep up with any screening schedules you began in earlier decades. Be diligent about avoiding falls, and stay spry by walking and getting other physical activity regularly.

• All women should be screened for osteoporosis with a bone density test. Most women should be screened at age 65, but those with risk factors for osteoporosis should be screened earlier. While it mostly affects women, it can cause fractures in men, too. Talk to your doctor about your risk. 
• Men with a smoking history should be screened for abdominal aortic aneurysm with an ultrasound at age 65.  If one of your first-degree relatives (for example, a parent, sibling or child) has had an abdominal aortic aneurysm, you should also talk to your doctor about screening. 
• Get an RSV vaccine at age 75. If you have risk factors, you and your provider may consider getting this sooner. 

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