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. Iron deficiency is especially common in premenopausal women because of the regular loss of iron with menstrual periods.
The following screening and preventive steps should be followed in consultation with your doctor:
Test
How Often
Blood Pressure
Every two years*
Blood Sugar Test
Discuss testing with your doctor if you are at risk of diabetes.
Weight/Body Mass Index (BMI)
Periodically
Breast Exam
Clinical breast exams (CBE) every year; Report any breast change promptly to your doctor, regular breast self-exam (BSE) is an option.**
Mammogram
Every 1 to 2 years*
Cholesterol
Every five years beginning at age 45*
Dental
Visit your dentist at least once a year. Brush at least twice a day, but no more than three times because brushing too often can cause gums to recede over time. Floss once a day.
Depression
Routinely talk to your doctor about whether you should be screened.*
Every 1 to 3 years or HPV DNA test plus a Pap smear every 3 years if results of both tests are negative***
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
Discuss testing with your doctor if you have more than one sexual partner, a partner with more than one sexual partner, a history of STDs or sexual contact with a person with an STD.
Skin (Mole) Exam
Do a monthly self-examination for changes that should be reported to a doctor. Have regular skin checks by a doctor if you have already had skin cancer.****
