Health Screening

Also called: Screening tests

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Summary

Screenings are tests that look for diseases before you have symptoms. Screening tests can find diseases early, when they're easier to treat. You can get some screenings in your doctor's office. Others need special equipment, so you may need to go to a different office or clinic.

Some conditions that doctors commonly screen for include:

Breast cancer and cervical cancer in women
Colorectal cancer
Diabetes
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Osteoporosis
Overweight and obesity
Prostate cancer in men

Which tests you need depends on your age, your sex, your family history, and whether you have risk factors for certain diseases. After a screening test, ask when you will get the results and whom to talk to about them.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Start Here

Get Screened (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion) Also in Spanish
Healthy Living by Age (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
To Screen or Not to Screen? The Benefits and Harms of Screening Tests (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

Health Insurance: Understanding What It Covers (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
How to Cope with Medical Test Anxiety (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
How to Understand Your Lab Results (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Whole-Body CT Screening -- Should I or Shouldn't I Get One? (Food and Drug Administration)

Specifics

Basic Metabolic Panel (BMP) (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Blood Glucose Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Cancer Screening Overview (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Clinical Screening and Diagnosis for Hepatitis C (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Complete Blood Count (CBC) (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Depression Screening (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Getting Professional Eye Care (Prevent Blindness America)
Lung Cancer Screening (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Skin Cancer Screening (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Skin Cancer Screening (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
STD Testing: What's Right for You (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Tuberculosis Screening (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Vision Screening (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Genetics

Genetic Testing: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Health Check Tools

Adult Vaccine Assessment Tool (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Calculate Your Body Mass Index (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
Mental Health Screening Center (Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance)
QuestionBuilder App (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) Also in Spanish

Videos and Tutorials

Laboratory Tests for Screening Diseases (College of American Pathologists)

Statistics and Research

Beyond Basic Blood Tests: A Window Into Your Health (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
Cancer Screening: How Do Screening Tests Become Standard Tests? (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Find an Expert

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Children

Blood Test: Lead (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Child and Teen BMI Calculator Widget (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Health Screening Tests (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Newborn Screening: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

Child and Teen BMI Calculator Widget (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Women

Mammograms (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Pap Smear (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Older Adults

Medicare Preventive and Screening Services (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish

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Disclaimers

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