Ages 40-49

Recommended Health Screenings And Prevention Steps For Women Ages 40-49

This is your transitional decade as your body matures into middle age. Maintaining healthy eating habits and a regular exercise regimen is very important as your reproductive life shifts from a focus on the ability to become pregnant to menopause.

Other conditions — diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, breast cancer and heart disease — are concerns for women in your age group as weight gain becomes more difficult to control.

If you smoke, this is the time to quit. Smoking can lead to lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in women.

Ask your health care professional if you should be taking a multivitamin for extra folic acid and iron. Folic acid has been linked to lower birth defects, an increased risk for women who become pregnant during these years. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendeds that you take a supplement with 0.4 to 0.8 milligrams (400 to 800 micrograms) of folic acid daily if you are planning or capable of getting pregnant. Iron deficiency is especially common in premenopausal women because of the regular loss of iron with menstrual periods.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force does not recommend aspirin for stroke prevention in women younger than 55 years or for preventing heart attacks (myocardial infarction).

The following screening and preventive steps should be followed in consultation with your doctor:

Test/Vaccine	How Often
Blood Pressure	Every two years — 18 years of age and older
Body Mass Index (BMI)	Periodically — 18 years of age and older
Cholesterol	Every 5 years — men 35 years of age and older; adult women if at risk for coronary artery disease
Mammogram	Every 1 to 2 years — women 40 years of age and older
Cervical Cancer*	Every 1 to 2 years** — Beginning at 21 years of age or earlier if sexually active; if 30 years of age and older, either a Pap smear every 2 to 3 years after 3 consecutive normal results or HPV DNA test plus a Pap smear every 3 years if results of both tests are negative. Women 70 years of age and older may stop screening. Talk with your physician to discuss the method of screening that is right for you.
Depression	Routinely — 18 years of age and older
Alcohol Misuse	Routinely — 18 years of age and older
Tobacco Use	Routinely — 18 years of age and older
Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis (Td/Tdap)	One dose Td every 10 years — 19 years of age and older; for 19-64 years of age, substitute a single dose of Td booster with Tdap
Cervical cancer screening recommendations are based on the American Cancer Society guidelines as of 3/13/09. *Every two years when using newer liquid-based Pap test. The preventive health screenings are based on the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) as of 3/13/09. The vaccine recommendations are based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as of 3/13/09. Recommendations change often. A full list of the most current recommendations may be accessed at these websites.

Related Health Issues For Your Age

Breast Health

Maintain your breast health.

Depression

Understand how depression may affect you.

Diabetes

Understand the workings of diabetes.

Diet

Discover healthy eating.

Fitness

Improve your health with fitness.

Heart Health

Learn how to keep your heart healthy.

High Blood Pressure

Know the value of acceptable blood pressure.

High Cholesterol

Make healthy cholesterol levels a priority.

Reproductive And Sexual Health

Help for maintaining your reproductive and sexual health during this age.