Screening tests and health counseling are a key part of managing your health. A screening test is done to find disorders or diseases 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 men ages 50 to 64. Talk with your healthcare provider. Make sure you’re up-to-date on what you need.
We understand gender is a spectrum. We may use gendered terms to talk about anatomy and health risk. Please use this information in a way that works best for you and your provider as you talk about your care.
Screening
Who needs it
How often
Unhealthy alcohol use
All men in this age group
At routine exams
Blood pressure
Once a year if your blood pressure is normal. Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mm Hg. If your blood pressure is higher than this, follow the advice of your healthcare provider.
Colorectal cancer
All men at average risk in this age group
Talk with your healthcare provider about which test below is right for you:
Colonoscopy every 10 years
Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years (or every 10 years with yearly fecal immunochemical test (FIT) stool test)
CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) every 5 years
Yearly fecal occult blood test
Yearly FIT
Stool DNA test every 1 to 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 healthcare provider.
Depression
Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes
All in this age group
At least every 3 years (yearly if your blood sugar has already begun to rise)
Type 2 diabetes
All men with prediabetes
Every year
Hepatitis C
Men at higher risk for infection. Test 1 time for men born between 1945 and 1965.
Talk with your healthcare provider.
High cholesterol or triglycerides
At least every 4 to 6 years. Talk with your healthcare provider about your risk. Ask if you should be tested more often.
HIV
At least 1 time. Talk with your healthcare provider about your risk factors. Ask if you should be tested more often.
Lung cancer
All men in this age group who are in fairly good health and are at higher risk for lung cancer, and who:
Smoke or quit in the past 15 years
Have a 20-pack per year smoking history (1 pack a day for 20 years or 2 packs a day for 10 years)
Expert groups vary in their advice. Talk with your healthcare provider.
Yearly lung cancer screening with a low-dose CT scan (LDCT). Talk with your healthcare provider.
Obesity
At yearly routine exams
BMI (body mass index)
Every year, to help find out if you are at a healthy weight for your height
Prostate cancer
All men in this age group, talk with your healthcare provider about risks and benefits of a digital rectal exam (DRE) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening
At routine exams if you decide to be tested.
Syphilis
Men at higher risk for infection
At routine exams. Talk with your healthcare provider.
Tuberculosis
Talk with your healthcare provider
Vision
Health counseling
Diet and exercise
Men who are overweight or obese
When diagnosed, and then at routine exams
Sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention
At routine exams; talk with your healthcare provider
Use of tobacco and the health effects it can cause
Every exam