You are due for a checkup and you are not sure what to ask for. Most people are not, because screening advice changes with age and is spread across a dozen sources. This guide pulls the national preventive guidance for women at average risk into one table, then explains how to turn it into your own calendar. It is written for the US; other countries run their own programs with different ages, so check your national health service if you live elsewhere.
The screening table by age
| Screening | Ages | How often, in general |
|---|---|---|
| Blood pressure | From 18 | Every three to five years from 18 to 39 if normal; every year from 40 or if at higher risk. |
| Cervical screening | 21 to 65 | Pap test every three years from 21; from 30, a Pap every three years or an HPV test every five. |
| HIV and hepatitis C | Adults | HIV at least once from 15 to 65; hepatitis C at least once from 18 to 79. |
| Depression and anxiety | Adults | Asked about in routine care; anxiety screening is recommended for adults under 65. |
| Mammogram | 40 to 74 | Every two years for women at average risk. |
| Diabetes and prediabetes | 35 to 70 | For adults with overweight or obesity, with repeat checks if normal. |
| Cholesterol and heart risk | 40 to 75 | A risk assessment that includes cholesterol, to guide prevention. |
| Colorectal screening | 45 to 75 | Several test options with different intervals; discuss which suits you. |
| Lung cancer | 50 to 80 | Yearly low-dose scan for people with a significant smoking history. |
| Bone density | 65 and over | Earlier for postmenopausal women at higher risk of fracture. |
At average risk means no strong family history, no earlier abnormal results and no symptoms. If any of those apply, your clinician may start earlier or check more often. Dental checkups, eye exams and skin checks are also worth keeping on your calendar, on the schedule your dentist, eye doctor or clinician suggests.
In your twenties and thirties
The core is blood pressure, cervical screening and a one-time check for HIV and hepatitis C. It is also the time to start two habits that make every later appointment better: writing down your family health history, and tracking your cycle so you have a record when something changes. Learn breast self-awareness: knowing your normal, so a change stands out.
In your forties
Mammograms start at 40 under current guidance, and a heart and diabetes risk check becomes routine. Perimenopause often begins in this decade; a log of symptoms makes the conversation easier, and what every woman should know about menopause explains what to track. Learn to read your own blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, and learn the heart attack symptoms more common in women.
From 45 and into your fifties and sixties
Colorectal screening starts at 45, lung screening applies at 50 if you have a significant smoking history, and by 65 a bone density scan is recommended, earlier if you are at higher risk. Protecting your bones is a long game; bone health covers the habits that help at any age.
A worked example: turning the table into your calendar
Take a 42 year old at average risk whose last cervical screening was an HPV test three years ago, who has never had a mammogram, and whose blood pressure was checked at a clinic last spring. Reading the table: blood pressure is due yearly from 40, so it is due again this spring; the HPV test is on a five year interval, so it is due in two years; a mammogram is due now, and then every two years; colorectal screening starts at 45, in three years. That gives four dates to write down. On the safety and admin card you can record each one and print it.
How to use this with your clinician
- Before the visit, list each screening in the table for your age and the date you last had it. health screenings every woman needs by age walks through it.
- Prepare a one-page list with your concern, your medicines and your family history.
- Ask which screenings are due, which can wait, and whether your history changes any start date.
- Ask how you will receive results. If you feel dismissed, ask what was ruled out and why.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a yearly visit automatically includes every screening.
- Waiting for a screening date when you have a symptom; symptoms need their own visit.
- Forgetting that family history can move screening earlier.
- Losing track after a move or an insurance change. Keep your own dates.
If low mood or anxiety is part of what you are dealing with, knowing when to talk to a therapist matters as much as any scan. In a crisis in the US, call or text 988.
Sources
Checked on September 28, 2026. Everything here is in our own words and general information, not advice for your situation. Where your doctor, your lease, a lawyer or a trained advocate says something different, follow them.
- US national preventive screening recommendations for adults. Ages and intervals in the table; reviewed September 28, 2026. Recommendations are updated from time to time.
- US national obstetric and gynecologic guidance. Cervical screening and menopause context; reviewed September 28, 2026.