Health Library

Guide to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of conditions from A to Z.

Find Health Information

Search entire library by keyword

Choose by letter to browse topics

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

(A-Z listing includes diseases, conditions, tests and procedures)

Can't find a health topic, click here to tell us what's missing

Home > Health Library

Prevention Guidelines for Men 50-64

<< Back to Prevention Guidelines

Prevention Guidelines for Men 50–64

Here are the screening tests and immunizations that most men ages 50 to 64 need. Although you and your health care provider may decide that a different schedule is best for you, this plan can guide your discussion.

Screening	Who needs it	How often
Alcohol misuse	All adults	At routine exams
Blood pressure	All adults	Every 2 years if your blood pressure reading is less than 120/80 mm Hg* Yearly if your systolic blood pressure reading is 120 to 139 mm Hg or your diastolic blood pressure reading is 80 to 89 mm Hg*
Colorectal cancer	All adults	According to the American Cancer Society: For tests that find polyps and cancer: Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years¹, or Colonoscopy every 10 years, or Double-contrast barium enema every 5 years¹ For tests that primarily find cancer: Yearly fecal occult blood test², or Yearly fecal immunochemical test every year², or Stool DNA test, interval uncertain² The tests that are designed to find both early cancer and polyps are preferred if these tests are available to you and you are willing to have one of these more invasive tests; talk with your doctor about which test is best for you
Depression	All adults with access to a clinical practice that has staff and systems in place to assure accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and follow-up	At routine exams
Diabetes mellitus, type 2	Adults who have no symptoms and have sustained blood pressure (treated or untreated) greater than 135/80 mm Hg	At least every 3 years
HIV	Anyone at increased risk for infection	At routine exams
Lipid disorders	All adults	At least every 5 years
Obesity	Anyone at increased risk	At routine exams
Syphilis	Anyone at increased risk for infection	At routine exams
Tuberculosis	Anyone at increased risk for infection	Check with your health care provider
Vision	All adults³	Check with your health care provider for exam frequency
Counseling	Who needs it	How often
Aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular events	Men ages 45 to 79 when potential benefits from a decrease in heart attacks outweigh the harm or risks from an increase in gastrointestinal hemorrhage	When diagnosed with risk for cardiovascular/heart disease; check with your health care provider before starting
Diet, behavioral counseling	Adults with hyperlipidemia and other known risk factors for cardiovascular and diet-related chronic disease	When diagnosed
Tobacco use and tobacco-related disease	All adults	Every visit
Immunization	Who needs it	How often
Tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis (Td/Tdap) booster	All adults	Td: every 10 years Tdap: substitute a one-time dose of Tdap for a Td booster after age 18, then boost with Td every 10 years
Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)	All adults ages 50 to 64 who have no previous infection or documented vaccinations**	One or two dose; check with your health care provider
Chickenpox (varicella)	Adults ages 50 to 64 who have no previous infection or documented vaccinations**	Two doses; second dose should be given at least 4 weeks after the first dose
Flu (seasonal)	All adults	Yearly, when the vaccine becomes available in the community
Hepatitis A	People at risk⁴	Two doses given at least 6 months apart
Hepatitis B	People at risk⁵	Three doses; the second dose should be given 1 month after the first dose, and the third dose given at least 2 months after the second dose (or at least 4 months after the first dose)
Meningococcal	People at risk**	One or more doses
Pneumococcal (polysaccharide)	People at risk⁶	One or two doses
Zoster	All men ages 60 and older**	One dose

*Recommendation from the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure

**Exceptions may exist; talk with your health care provider

¹If the test is positive, a colonoscopy should be done

²The multiple stool take-home test should be used. One test done by the doctor in the office is not adequate for testing. A colonoscopy should be done if the test is positive.

³Recommendation from the American Academy of Ophthalmology

⁴For complete list, see the CDC website

⁵For complete list, see the CDC website

⁶For complete list, see the CDC website

Screening guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Immunization schedule from the CDC