Health check-up for men aged 40 to 64: screenings and vaccines

Midlife is when many health risks begin to rise, and it is also a good time to review your check-up routine. This article summarises what MedlinePlus lists for men aged 40 to 64. Your own doctor can adjust it to your health and family history.

Regular visits

MedlinePlus advises seeing your provider regularly, even when you feel well. Visits include checks of blood pressure, height, weight and BMI, and a talk about your mood, diet, exercise, substance use and medicines.

Screenings MedlinePlus lists

• Blood pressure: at least yearly, and more often if you have diabetes, heart or kidney disease, obesity, a family history or elevated readings.
• Cholesterol: every 4 to 6 years, and more often with lifestyle changes or certain conditions.
• Colorectal cancer, ages 45 to 75: options include a colonoscopy every 10 years, a yearly stool test, a stool DNA test every 1 to 3 years, a sigmoidoscopy every 5 years or a CT colonography every 5 years. Under 45, talk to your provider if you have a family history or other risk factors.
• Prediabetes and type 2 diabetes: from age 35 if you are overweight or obese, and every 3 years if you still are. Start earlier and repeat more often with risk factors.
• Eye exam: every 2 to 4 years between ages 40 and 54, and every 1 to 3 years between 55 and 64. People with diabetes need a yearly retina exam.
• Dental exam: once or twice a year.
• Hepatitis C: one time between ages 18 and 79.
• HIV: one time between ages 15 and 65, and yearly if you are at increased risk.

Screenings to discuss based on risk

MedlinePlus lists several tests that depend on your personal situation:

• Lung cancer: a yearly low-dose CT scan for people aged 50 to 80 with a 20 pack-year smoking history who currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years.
• Prostate cancer (PSA): discuss it with your provider at ages 55 to 69. Under 55 it is generally not recommended unless you are at higher risk, for example with a family history or if you are African American.
• Osteoporosis: discuss it at ages 50 to 69 only if you have risk factors such as steroid use, smoking or a family history of hip fracture.
• Skin exam: a provider check if you are at high risk.

MedlinePlus says clinician testicular exams are not recommended, because the US Preventive Services Task Force found little to no benefit.

Vaccines to discuss

• Flu vaccine every year
• COVID-19 vaccine, as your provider advises
• Tdap once if you did not have it as a teenager, then Td or Tdap every 10 years
• Chickenpox vaccine, 2 doses, if you never had chickenpox or the vaccine and were born in 1980 or later
• Hepatitis B vaccine, 2 to 4 doses, until age 59 if you did not have them as a child or teenager
• MMR vaccine, 1 to 2 doses if you are not already immune
• Shingles vaccine, 2 doses, at age 50 or older

MedlinePlus suggests asking your provider about other vaccines, especially if you have a condition such as diabetes.

Making the visit work for you

Bring a list of your medicines and supplements, and write down any family history of heart disease, diabetes or cancer. Ask which of the tests above are due for you and which are not, and ask when you should come back. If a test is offered that you do not understand, ask what it looks for and what the result would change.

When to see a doctor

Do not wait for your next check-up if you have new symptoms or a change that worries you. For warning signs of a heart attack or stroke, such as chest pain, trouble breathing, sudden weakness or trouble speaking, get emergency help. In an emergency, call your local emergency number (112 in India, 911 in the United States).

This article is for education only. The right schedule for you depends on your own history, so ask your doctor.