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A Guide to Predicting Your Medical Future
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35 to 49 Years Old
In your 30s and 40s, lifestyle choices start to catch up with you. Serious conditions may begin to surface. Tests can flag some of them while there
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s still plenty of time for treatment.
WOMEN
Mammogram: According to a 2007 study by the National Cancer Institute and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the number of women older than 40 getting mammograms every year or two is dropping. That may be bad news. Women at low risk for developing breast cancer should start annual or biennial mammograms at 40. Most health-insurance policies offer at least partial coverage. Those at higher risk—based on family history, weight, use of cigarettes or alcohol, early puberty or exposure to radiation —should start earlier, says the National Cancer Institute. Some groups recommend a baseline mammogram at 35.
Thyroid screening: Hypothyroidism causes few symptoms early on, but it can lead to obesity, joint pain, infertility and heart disease. Women over 35 should get checked every five years, says the American Thyroid Association. (It's not a universal recommendation: the USPSTF says the evidence for screening is inconclusive.) Since hypothyroidism is most common in midlife, catching it earlier than that will make it easier to manage, Lausier says. Women who want to get pregnant should also get tested, since a mother's thyroid problems can affect her fetus.
EVERYONE
Blood pressure and BMI: From the age of 50, says Snow, doctors start screening for diseases in healthy people with no risk factors purely for the sake of prevention. Before that, testing should be much more selective. "Screening in general tends to be based either on age or risk factors," Snow says. At 34 to 49, age isn't the more important indicator. "Almost everything at this stage is going to be risk based. You have to have triggers," she says. That doesn't include height, weight and blood-pressure checks, however, which should be administered regardless of how healthy you are. Keep monitoring levels every one to two years. Rates of coronary artery disease have increased slightly for women in this age group, while men's rates have continued to drop, according to a recently published study, so everyone—not just men—should be vigilant about screening.
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