Annual Health Checkup: Tests You Need by Age

Tests everyone should get (all ages)

Add these in your 30s

• KFT (Kidney Function Test): Creatinine, urea, eGFR. Early kidney disease has no symptoms. Read more
• LFT (Liver Function Test): Fatty liver is increasingly common from the 30s. Read more
• Uric Acid: Gout risk rises with age and dietary habits. Read more
• Ferritin: Iron stores, especially important for women with heavy periods. Read more
• ECG (not a blood test): Baseline heart rhythm check

Add these in your 40s

• CRP (C-Reactive Protein): Chronic low-grade inflammation is a heart disease risk factor. Read more
• HbA1c: Diabetes risk rises sharply in 40s, especially with family history or weight gain
• Eye check: Glaucoma and early diabetic eye disease screening
• Urine Microalbumin: Earliest sign of kidney damage from diabetes or hypertension

Add these in your 50s and above

• PSA (men): Prostate health screening from age 50 (earlier with family history). Read more
• Bone Density (DEXA scan): Osteoporosis risk rises for women post-menopause
• Colonoscopy: Colorectal cancer screening from 50
• Annual ECG and Echo: Heart structure and function

Special tests for women (at any age)

• Ferritin: Monthly blood loss from menstruation depletes iron stores
• LH / FSH / Testosterone: If irregular periods, hair loss or PCOS suspected. Read more
• Pap smear: Cervical cancer screening, every 3 years from age 21
• Mammogram: Breast cancer screening, annually from 40–45

Frequently Asked Questions

References

Sources cited on this page. PubMed links open the original abstract.

1. US Preventive Services Task Force. Evidence-based recommendations for clinical preventive services. Ann Intern Med. 2019;171(7):520–521. PMID 31499531 · doi:10.7326/M19-1814

Who benefits from a health checkup – and how often

Preventive health screening is most effective when targeted to populations at meaningful risk of a condition that can be detected early and is modifiable. The NHS Health Check programme offers all adults aged 40–74 a free assessment every 5 years, covering cardiovascular risk, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, BMI, and smoking status. Additional screening programmes run in parallel:

• NHS Bowel Cancer Screening: FIT (faecal immunochemical test) sent by post to all adults aged 50–74 every 2 years. A positive result triggers colonoscopy. Detects colorectal cancer at an earlier, more treatable stage.
• NHS Breast Screening: Mammography every 3 years for women aged 50–70. Extended to 47–73 in the current pilot.
• NHS Cervical Screening: HPV test from a cervical sample every 5 years for women aged 25–64. HPV-positive samples are reflexively tested for cytological abnormality.
• NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening: Single ultrasound for men at age 65. Women and younger men are not screened (lower prevalence).
• Diabetic eye screening: Annual retinal photography for all people with diabetes – detecting diabetic retinopathy before vision loss occurs.

Blood tests included in a standard health checkup

A typical GP-led health review or NHS Health Check includes:

• Total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides: For cardiovascular risk calculation using QRISK3.
• HbA1c or fasting glucose: Screens for type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes. HbA1c is preferred because it does not require fasting and reflects average glucose over the prior 2–3 months.
• FBC: Screens for anaemia and blood cell abnormalities; often added to detect previously undiagnosed conditions.
• Thyroid function (TSH): Routinely included in many private health MOTs; not included in NHS Health Check unless symptoms prompt investigation. Hypothyroidism affects approximately 2% of women and 0.2% of men, with the highest prevalence over 60.
• Urine dipstick and ACR: Screens for CKD (proteinuria), diabetes (glycosuria), and haematuria (urological pathology).
• Liver function and renal function: Baseline values useful for future comparison and detecting silent organ dysfunction – NAFLD and CKD are each present in 10–15% of the population without diagnosis.

QRISK3 – how cardiovascular risk is calculated

QRISK3 is the validated UK cardiovascular risk calculator, used within GP computer systems. It estimates the 10-year probability of a first heart attack or stroke using 20+ variables: age, sex, ethnicity, systolic blood pressure and its variability, total:HDL cholesterol ratio, HbA1c, deprivation (Townsend score), family history, smoking status, body mass index, waist:height ratio, and presence of conditions such as type 1 diabetes, CKD, atrial fibrillation, rheumatoid arthritis, SLE, severe mental illness, and erectile dysfunction. A QRISK3 above 10% is the threshold at which NICE recommends offering statin therapy.