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Health by decade / 04 of 04

Health in your 60s and beyond

Several screenings reach their upper age limits in this stretch: cervical screening ends at 65 with adequate prior results, routine HIV screening ends at 65, breast screening runs to 74, colorectal to 75 (selectively to 85), lung to 80, and the statin evidence stops at 75. Others start: bone density for all women at 65, a one-time aortic aneurysm ultrasound for men 65 to 75 who ever smoked, and RSV vaccination at 75.

Written by the VitalDecades editorial team Reviewed by the editorial review process Updated
A smiling grey-haired woman holding a basket of fresh vegetables in a garden.
Photo: Kampus Production / Pexels

01  /  Screenings

What to get checked in your 60s and beyond

Each row names the body that recommends it, the grade it gave, and the date of that recommendation. Recommendations change; the date tells you how current the row is.

Blood pressure

Confirm a high office reading with out-of-office measurement before treatment.

Who All adults 18 and older
How often Every year at 40 and older
Recommendation USPSTF Grade A (2021)

Effective

Prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (A1C, fasting glucose or OGTT)

Recommendation covers ages 35 to 70.

Who Adults 35 to 70 with overweight or obesity
How often About every 3 years if results are normal
Recommendation USPSTF Grade B (2021)

Effective

Cardiovascular risk assessment and statin decision (lipid panel plus 10-year ASCVD risk)

Grade C at 7.5% to under 10% risk; insufficient evidence at 76 and older.

Who Adults 40 to 75 with at least one risk factor (dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, smoking)
How often At the visit where risk is assessed; statin recommended when 10-year risk is 10% or higher
Recommendation USPSTF Grade B (2022)

Effective

Colorectal cancer screening

Grade C at 76 to 85: an individual decision.

Who Adults 50 to 75 (selectively offered at 76 to 85)
How often Colonoscopy every 10 years; FIT every year; sDNA-FIT every 1 to 3 years; CT colonography or flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years
Recommendation USPSTF Grade A (2021)

Effective

Breast cancer screening (mammography)

Insufficient evidence at 75 and older.

Who Women 40 to 74 at average risk
How often Every 2 years
Recommendation USPSTF Grade B (2024)

Effective

Lung cancer screening (low-dose CT)

Who Adults 50 to 80 with a 20 pack-year history who smoke or quit within 15 years
How often Every year; stop after 15 years without smoking or if a health problem limits life expectancy
Recommendation USPSTF Grade B (2021)

Effective

Cervical cancer screening

Who Women up to 65
How often Same options as earlier decades until 65; screening ends after 65 with adequate prior negative screening
Recommendation USPSTF Grade A to 65; Grade D after 65 with adequate prior screening (2018)

Effective

Prostate cancer screening (PSA)

An update is in progress (research plan posted 2023); the 2018 statement remains current.

Who Men 55 to 69
How often Periodic PSA as an individual decision after discussing benefits and harms; no interval set
Recommendation USPSTF Grade C at 55 to 69; Grade D at 70 and older (2018)

Effective

Osteoporosis screening (bone density, DXA)

Insufficient evidence for screening men.

Who All women 65 and older; postmenopausal women under 65 at increased risk
How often No fixed interval; repeat testing at 4 to 8 years did not add predictive accuracy
Recommendation USPSTF Grade B (2025)

Effective

Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening (ultrasound)

Selectively offered to men 65 to 75 who never smoked (Grade C).

Who Men 65 to 75 who have ever smoked
How often One time
Recommendation USPSTF Grade B (2019)

Effective

Depression screening

Who All adults, including pregnant and postpartum people and older adults
How often No optimal interval established; screen everyone not previously screened, then by clinical judgment
Recommendation USPSTF Grade B (2023)

Effective

Anxiety disorder screening

Who Adults 64 and younger
How often No specific interval
Recommendation USPSTF Grade B to 64; insufficient evidence at 65 and older (2023)

Effective

Unhealthy alcohol use screening and brief counseling

Who Adults 18 and older
How often No interval established
Recommendation USPSTF Grade B (2018)

Effective

Hepatitis C screening

Who Adults 18 to 79
How often One time for most adults; periodically with continued risk
Recommendation USPSTF Grade B (2020)

Effective

HIV screening

Who Adults up to 65; older adults at increased risk
How often At least once; repeat for people at increased risk
Recommendation USPSTF Grade A (2019)

Effective

Hepatitis B screening

Who Adults at increased risk (born in high-prevalence regions, HIV, injection drug use, men who have sex with men, household or sexual contacts)
How often Risk-based
Recommendation USPSTF Grade B (2020)

Effective

Syphilis screening

Who Nonpregnant adults at increased risk
How often Risk-based
Recommendation USPSTF Grade A (2022)

Effective

Weight and BMI, with referral to intensive behavioral programs when BMI is 30 or higher

The topic is being updated; the 2018 statement remains current.

Who Adults with a BMI of 30 or higher
How often Offer or refer at the visit
Recommendation USPSTF Grade B (2018)

Effective

Influenza vaccine

Who All adults 19 and older
How often One dose every year; at 65 and older a high-dose, recombinant or adjuvanted vaccine is preferred
Recommendation CDC/ACIP adult schedule (reviewed 2025-07-02)

Effective

Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap or Td)

Who All adults
How often One Tdap, then a Td or Tdap booster every 10 years
Recommendation CDC/ACIP adult schedule (reviewed 2025-07-02)

Effective

Shingles vaccine (recombinant zoster, Shingrix)

Who Adults 50 and older
How often Two doses, 2 to 6 months apart, one time
Recommendation CDC/ACIP adult schedule (reviewed 2025-07-02)

Effective

Pneumococcal vaccine (PCV20 or PCV21, or PCV15 then PPSV23)

ACIP lowered the routine age from 65 to 50 in October 2024.

Who Adults 50 and older not previously vaccinated
How often One dose of PCV20 or PCV21; or PCV15 followed by PPSV23 a year later
Recommendation CDC/ACIP adult schedule (reviewed 2025-07-02)

Effective

RSV vaccine

Who All adults 75 and older; adults 50 to 74 at increased risk
How often Single dose, one time
Recommendation CDC/ACIP adult schedule and June 2025 addendum

Effective

COVID-19 vaccine

CDC's separate COVID vaccine considerations page could not be verified on 2026-08-19; check the current schedule.

Who Adults 19 and older
How often Per the current CDC schedule; the schedule page still expresses this in terms of the 2024 to 2025 vaccine
Recommendation CDC/ACIP adult schedule (reviewed 2025-07-02)

Effective

02  /  Numbers to track

Biomarkers worth knowing this decade

Apolipoprotein B

ApoB

Risk-enhancing factor: 130 or higher mg/dL

HDL cholesterol

HDL-C

Low (a major risk factor): under 40 mg/dL

Hemoglobin A1C

A1C

Normal (below the prediabetes range): under 5.7 %

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein

hs-CRP

Low relative risk: under 1 mg/L

LDL cholesterol

LDL-C

Optimal: under 100 mg/dL

Total testosterone

TT

Harmonized normal range: 264 to 916 ng/dL

Triglycerides

TG

Normal: under 150 mg/dL

What changes at 60 and after

The 2025 osteoporosis recommendation makes bone density screening Grade B for all women 65 and older. Men 65 to 75 who have ever smoked get a one-time abdominal aortic aneurysm ultrasound. Prostate screening becomes Grade D at 70. And the upper bounds matter as much as the new tests: mammography evidence stops at 74, colorectal screening becomes an individual decision at 76 to 85, lung screening stops at 80 or after 15 years without smoking, and the USPSTF found insufficient evidence for starting a statin at 76 or older.

Vaccines: an annual influenza vaccine, with a high-dose, recombinant or adjuvanted product preferred at 65 and older; shingles and pneumococcal if not already done; a single RSV dose at 75 and older (or 50 to 74 at increased risk); Td or Tdap every 10 years.

Frequently asked questions

Do I still need a colonoscopy after 75? ▼

The USPSTF recommends routine colorectal screening through 75 (Grade A). At 76 to 85 it is Grade C, an individual decision that weighs overall health and prior screening history.

Should men over 70 have a PSA test? ▼

The USPSTF recommends against PSA-based screening at 70 and older (Grade D). Between 55 and 69 it is an individual decision.

When does the RSV vaccine apply? ▼

ACIP recommends a single dose for all adults 75 and older, and for adults 50 to 74 at increased risk of severe RSV disease. Additional doses are not recommended.