Screening at your age: benefits, limits and access
Choose your age and sex: see what matters now, what comes next, and how to get it on the NHS in England.
England only. A guide for adults without symptoms. Some tests can reduce deaths; others have benefits measured through fewer complications or treatment after detection. Outcomes differ between tests; discuss your choice with a clinician.
Bone density scan (DEXA), once, if never done (if your GP's fracture-risk check says so)
Stops: Cervical screening
At 71
Stops: Breast screening (mammogram)
At 75
Stops: Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit)
Stops: Blood pressure
Stops: Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk
Stops: Blood sugar test for diabetes
After 74–75 most screening is no longer recommended routinely, because its benefit takes years to arrive. Whether to continue is a decision with your doctor, based on your health and wishes.
What each test is worth
The same question for each: per 1,000 people, how many deaths from the disease does the test prevent? Some numbers come from trials (people invited, or randomly assigned to the test), others from a model that assumes people always attend; each has its own time span, written beside it. For osteoporosis the number is hip fractures, not deaths. So the tests are not ranked on one scale.
Each small square is a person; there are 10,000.
Cervical screening
25–64, every 5 years
High-risk types of HPV, which over years can turn cells of the cervix into cancer. A positive test leads to a check of the cells and, if needed, a colposcopy, where changes are found before they become cancer.
8per 1,000
cervical cancer deaths avoided per 1,000 women with an HPV test every 5 years from 30 to 65, compared with none: from 8.34 to 0.29 (modelled estimate, US)
modelled estimate
What the evidence says
Every 5 years from 25 to 64 if the HPV test is negative; since 1 July 2025 this includes 25 to 49. A positive test brings you back sooner.
Free. Routine invitations normally follow a female marker on your GP record. If you have a cervix and a different marker, ask your GP, practice nurse, sexual health clinic or transgender health service about opting in; a clinician checks your record and consent. Book through your GP practice or a sexual health clinic.
Free. Routine invitations normally follow a female marker on your GP record. If you have breast tissue and are not invited, ask your GP or breast screening service about the appropriate route; surgery and hormone treatment can change your screening needs. From 71, contact the screening service to ask about self-referral.
Invisible traces of blood in stool, a sign of polyps and bowel cancer. A positive test leads to a colonoscopy, where polyps can be removed there and then.
A family history of bowel cancer can change which screening is right for you. Tell your doctor which relatives had bowel cancer and how old they were when diagnosed; screening options depend on that history.
24–28per 1,000
bowel cancer deaths avoided per 1,000 people screened from 45 to 75, modelled estimate (US)
modelled estimate
The model assumes a FIT every year (or a colonoscopy every 10 years) from 45. The programme here, every 2 years from 50, prevents somewhat fewer deaths.
What the evidence says
A home FIT kit every 2 years from 50 to 74. Over 75, you can ask for a kit.
40–74, every 5 years (as part of the NHS Health Check)
High blood pressure, which causes no symptoms and raises the risk of heart attack and stroke.
no death count for the test
No trial compares people whose blood pressure was measured with people whose was not. The benefit comes from treatment, which clearly cuts heart attacks and strokes.
What the evidence says
Blood pressure is measured at the NHS Health Check, usually every 5 years for eligible adults aged 40–74. Your GP may also check it during ordinary care.
Your chance of a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years, worked out from cholesterol, blood pressure, age and smoking.
no death count for the test
The benefit comes from treatment: in 18 trials of adults with no previous heart attack or stroke, statins meant about 3.5 fewer deaths per 1,000 people treated, over 6 months to 6 years.
What the evidence says
For eligible adults aged 40–74, the NHS Health Check usually measures cholesterol and estimates cardiovascular risk every 5 years.
from 18, once, if never done (if you have ever been at risk)
Viruses that damage the liver silently for decades, up to cirrhosis or cancer. Hepatitis C is now cured with tablets in 8–12 weeks.
no death count for the test
No death count has been measured for the test itself. The benefit comes from treatment: hepatitis C is cured in over 95% of people treated.
What the evidence says
No general programme; testing is offered to people who have ever been at risk.
How to get it
Free at your GP or a sexual health clinic if you may have been at risk.
HIV, one-time test
from 18, once, if never done (if you may have been at risk)
HIV infection, which treated in time means a near-normal lifespan.
no death count for the test
The benefit comes from starting treatment early; no death count has been measured for the test itself.
What the evidence says
Free at any sexual health clinic, often with a home kit ordered online.
How to get it
Free at sexual health clinics.
Bone density scan (DEXA)
from 65, once, if never done (if your GP's fracture-risk check says so)
Osteoporosis: bones that break in an ordinary fall.
5per 1,000
hip fractures prevented per 1,000 older women, over 4–5 years (three trials)
measured in trials
What the evidence says
No national programme. GPs estimate fracture risk (with a tool such as FRAX) and refer for a scan if it is raised.
How to get it
Free with a GP referral.
Lung scan (low-dose CT) for smokers
55–74, every 2 years
Lung cancer at a stage when it can still be operated on.
3per 1,000
lung cancer deaths prevented per 1,000 heavy smokers scanned yearly, over about 7 years, compared with chest X-ray (NLST)
measured in a trial
Nearly a quarter of scans come back positive at first; almost all turn out to be false alarms.
What the evidence says
Lung health checks for people aged 55 to 74 who have ever smoked; the national programme is still being rolled out and is only in some parts of England.
A swelling of the main artery in the abdomen that causes no pain and no signs until it bursts.
4.6per 1,000
aneurysm deaths prevented per 1,000 men invited to one scan, over 13 years (MASS trial)
measured in a trial
In December 1948 the surgeon Rudolph Nissen opened Albert Einstein's abdomen in Brooklyn and found a large aneurysm on the aorta. There was no way to replace it, so he wrapped it in cellophane to stiffen it. Einstein lived six more years. In April 1955 the aneurysm burst; he refused surgery and died on 18 April. Today the same swelling shows up on a scan that takes a few minutes.
What the evidence says
Routine invitations are sent to people registered as male with a GP in the year they turn 65. Men over 65 who were never scanned can ask the local service. For trans and non-binary people, discuss need with your GP; the record marker alone does not establish risk.
Free. A male marker in your GP record normally triggers the invitation in the year you turn 65. If you were not invited, ask your GP or local AAA screening service whether screening is appropriate.
Prostate cancer, including many small tumours that would never have caused harm.
If your father or brother had prostate cancer, or you are of African descent, the PSA conversation starts at 45; with a BRCA2 mutation, at 40 (European urology guideline, EAU).
2.2per 1,000
prostate cancer deaths prevented per 1,000 men aged 55–69 invited to PSA testing, over 23 years (ERSPC)
measured in a trial
More than 45% of men tested at every round had at least one false positive over 10 years, and 20–50% of the cancers found would never have caused harm.
What the evidence says
No screening programme. In May 2026 the UK National Screening Committee recommended a PSA test every 2 years only for men aged 45 to 61 with a BRCA2 gene change and a family history of cancer. Any man over 50 can ask his GP for a PSA test after talking it through.
See your GP about any mole that grows, changes shape or colour, or bleeds.
What isn't worth the money
Private clinics sell 'complete' check-ups. The tests below often appear in them and have no evidence of saving lives in people without symptoms and at average risk; some cause harm. Symptoms need a doctor, not a screening list.
Tumour markers (CEA, CA-125, CA 19-9, CA 15-3, AFP) without symptoms
In two large trials of CA-125, women who were tested were no less likely to die of ovarian cancer. Between 1% and 3% had surgery without having cancer, and up to 15% of those had serious complications.
In South Korea, the thyroid cancer diagnosis rate rose fifteenfold between 1993 and 2011, mainly through detection of papillary cancers; mortality stayed stable. An insurance-claims analysis of more than 15,000 Koreans who underwent surgery reported hypoparathyroidism in 11%: their parathyroid glands were not working properly. The article does not specify how many cases were permanent.
The US Food and Drug Administration says it knows of no evidence that whole-body scanning of people without symptoms does more good than harm. It finds 'something' in many people, and each finding leads to more tests.
A Cochrane review of 17 trials with over 230,000 people found no difference in deaths between people invited to general health checks and those who were not. What matters is the tests that fit your age, not how many.
In England: cervical screening every 5 years from 25 to 64, breast screening every 3 years from 50 to 71, a bowel screening kit every 2 years from 50 to 74, one aortic aneurysm scan for men at 65, and the NHS Health Check every 5 years for eligible adults aged 40–74. Lung health checks for people aged 55 to 74 who have ever smoked are being rolled out.
What health checks should I have at 40?
Women: Cervical screening, Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis B and C, one-time test, HIV, one-time test. Men: Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis B and C, one-time test, HIV, one-time test.
What screening should I have at 50?
Women: Cervical screening, Breast screening (mammogram), Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis B and C, one-time test, HIV, one-time test. Men: Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis B and C, one-time test, HIV, one-time test. A PSA test is available on request, a decision to make with your GP. Smokers can add a lung health check from 55 where it runs.
What screening is there after 65?
Women: Breast screening (mammogram), Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Bone density scan (DEXA), Hepatitis B and C, one-time test, HIV, one-time test. Men: Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) scan, Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis B and C, one-time test, HIV, one-time test. A PSA test is available on request, a decision to make with your GP. Smokers can add a lung health check from 55 where it runs.
Is a private full-body health check worth it?
Usually not. A Cochrane review of 17 trials found general health checks made no difference to deaths. Tumour markers and whole-body scans in people without symptoms raise many false alarms. What matters is the screening that fits your age, most of it free on the NHS.
The evidence column follows the UK National Screening Committee and the NHS programmes in England, and for the size of each benefit, the randomised trials and the US Preventive Services Task Force evidence reviews. This calculator covers England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have separate screening services, with different eligibility, invitation and access rules.
Lives saved are absolute: deaths avoided per 1,000 people, not '42% fewer'. Some come from trials (people invited, followed for a fixed number of years), others from models that assume you take every test for life. They are labelled separately and not ranked.
This page does not replace your doctor. With symptoms, a family history of cancer or a long-term condition, your list is different and is made with them.
England scope and invitation access checked on 21 October 2026 against NHS and GOV.UK guidance. Clinical ages and intervals retain their September review. Next access review: 21 November 2026, or sooner if official guidance changes.
Why the ages change
Screening ages move when the evidence moves, and lately they have moved down because some diseases now appear earlier: in 2021 the US lowered bowel screening from 50 to 45 as bowel cancer rose in younger adults, and diabetes testing from 40 to 35; Spain and Austria widened their programmes in 2025–2026. Every rule here was checked in September 2026. Some programmes can prevent cancer by finding and treating precancerous changes; others aim to detect disease early. The other half stays the same: not smoking, a healthy weight, moving more and drinking less.
Sources
Every rule and number on the page, with its source. Checked on 27 September 2026.