On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Health Check Tools
• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Women
• Older Adults

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 BMI Calculator (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Calculate Your BMI (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)

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

• Article: Performance and usability evaluation of three LDH-based malaria rapid diagnostic tests...
• Article: Utility of rapid diagnostic tests and microscopy to detect malaria in...
• Article: Target product profiles for new diagnostics to inform strongyloidiasis control programs.
• Health Screening -- see more articles

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 (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 (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