Sudden, severe pain in the belly or back in an older person is an emergency, not an appointment: call 112 or 999. Out of hours, your GP's out-of-hours service sees you by appointment.
What gets added in the years ahead
Each line is a test; each dot is an appointment. Scroll and your age goes up: see what starts and stops at each birthday.
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
25–29, every 3 years; 30–65, 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
An HPV test every 3 years from 25 to 29 and every 5 years from 30 to 65.
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.
If a parent, brother, sister or child had bowel cancer, don't wait for the programme: colonoscopy starts at 40, or 10 years before the age your relative was diagnosed, whichever comes first. Tell your doctor.
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 Irish programme, every 2 years from 57, prevents fewer deaths.
What the evidence says
A home stool test (FIT) every 2 years from 57 to 71, since April 2026; the HSE plans to widen it to 55–74 over time.
18–39, every 3 years (or every 5 years if normal); from 40, every year
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
Measured from 18: every 3–5 years up to 40 if normal, then every year (US guidance, USPSTF).
At your GP; free if you have a medical card or GP visit card (over-70s get one whatever their income), otherwise you pay the GP fee. Card holders with high blood pressure or at high risk of heart disease or diabetes get free prevention reviews.
Men: from 40, every 5 years; Women: from 50, every 5 years
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
European prevention guideline (ESC, 2021): risk assessment may be considered in men over 40 and women over 50.
At your GP; free if you have a medical card or GP visit card (over-70s get one whatever their income), otherwise you pay the GP fee. Card holders with high blood pressure or at high risk of heart disease or diabetes get free prevention reviews.
At your GP; free if you have a medical card or GP visit card (over-70s get one whatever their income), otherwise you pay the GP fee. Card holders with high blood pressure or at high risk of heart disease or diabetes get free prevention reviews.
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
No national programme; a research lung health check runs as a pilot.
How to get it
If you are a heavy smoker, talk to your GP.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) scan
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
No national programme in the Republic of Ireland.
How to get it
Men over 65 who have smoked can ask their GP.
PSA test for prostate cancer
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 national screening programme; the HSE does not recommend PSA for men without symptoms.
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, once thyroid ultrasound was added to routine checks, thyroid cancer diagnoses rose fifteenfold in 18 years while deaths stayed flat. Of those operated on, 11% were left with damaged parathyroid glands.
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.
Free from the HSE: cervical screening from 25 to 65 (every 3 years to 29, then every 5); a mammogram every 2 years from 50 to 69; a home bowel test every 2 years from 57 to 71. Also free: a home STI kit (HIV included) from 17 and a home hepatitis C test from 18. GP visits are free with a medical card or GP visit card.
Which checks should you have at 40?
Women: Cervical screening, Blood pressure, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis C (free home test), HIV, one-time test. Men: Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis C (free home test), HIV, one-time test.
Which screening should you have from 50?
Women: Cervical screening, Breast screening (mammogram), Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis C (free home test), HIV, one-time test. Men: Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis C (free home test), HIV, one-time test. There is no national lung screening; heavy smokers can talk to their GP.
Which screening should you have from 65?
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 C (free home 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 C (free home test), HIV, one-time test. There is no national lung screening; heavy smokers can talk to their GP.
Is a private full 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.
The evidence column follows the HSE National Screening Service; for the size of each benefit, the randomised trials and the US Preventive Services Task Force evidence reviews. Where Ireland has no programme, the page says so.
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 GP. With symptoms, a family history of cancer or a long-term condition, your list is different and is made with them.
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. Screening finds disease early; it does not prevent it. 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.