Your body changes in many ways as you age. Fine lines and wrinkles start to appear; your metabolism slows down, and your joints ache frequently. Since your body is not what it once was, you must pay extra attention to your overall health.
To keep yourselves in top shape, you must undergo various age-related screening tests. These examinations will help you detect diseases early and understand the current condition of your body. Using the data gathered from screening tests, you can then find ways to improve your health and extend your happy and healthy years.
There are many health screening tests for adults age fifty and up. If you’re having a hard time deciding which among the screenings should you undergo first, check this list. Enumerated here are some of the tests that both older men and women should take.
Bone-Density Tests
In the United States, about half of adults aged fifty and up are at risk of breaking a bone. Many of them suffer from fractures without knowing that osteoporosis is the cause of their injuries. This is because a lot of people fail to undergo a bone-density test, which is a proper way to diagnose osteoporosis.
A bone-density test measures the amount of calcium and minerals in a segment of your bone. It can assess a person’s risk of fractures and determine if he or she has the following:
- Normal bone density
- Low bone density (Osteopenia)
- Osteoporosis
Quick tip: bones become weaker and thinner as you grow older. To protect the bones and prevent osteoporosis, incorporate calcium into your diet, consider weight-bearing exercises, consult health-care providers, and take a bone density test.
Eye Exams
According to the World Health Organization, at least 2.2 billion people around the world have vision impairment. Almost half of them could have either prevented or addressed their current eye-related problems if they had undergone routine eye exams. A comprehensive eye exam usually involves a series of tests to assess the overall condition of a person’s eyes.
Quick tip: adults aged fifty and above must take routine eye exams regardless of their current visual acuity. This is because comprehensive eye tests can help detect various eye diseases, including the ones that do not show signs and symptoms at the onset.
Blood-Pressure Tests
Did you know that one in three American adults has hypertension? Older adults have a higher risk of hypertension, so they should take blood-pressure tests at least once a year.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is referred to as a silent killer by the World Health Organization. It usually doesn’t have any warning signs or symptoms, so many people are unaware that they have it. The only way to detect hypertension is through blood-pressure tests.
Blood-pressure tests may look like a simple routine part of most medical appointments. However, you should definitely try to detect high blood pressure as early as possible because uncontrolled hypertension can cause serious damage to the heart.
Quick tip: watch out for symptoms of high blood pressure, such as chest pain, blood in urine, and severe headache. Don’t take these signs for granted; have a checkup right away.
Pulse-Oximetry Test
A pulse-oximetry test is a noninvasive way to measure a person’s blood oxygen level (SpO2). It gauges how well oxygen is sent to the body parts furthest away from your heart. When the level is lower than normal, a person may experience headaches, high blood pressure, chest pains, and other symptoms.
Very low oxygen saturation can put a strain on our heart, lungs, and brain. To avoid any irreversible damage to the body, the pulse-oximetry test is used to check the health of people who have conditions that affect blood levels, such as these:
- Anemia
- Asthma
- Heart attack
- Heart failure
- Lung cancer
- Pneumonia
Quick tip: ask your doctor if they can recommend pulse-oximetry tests at home. You can ensure accurate oxygen-saturation readings by investing in quality SpO2-measuring equipment. Pay close attention to your doctor’s advice on how often an individual should have their readings and what they should do if the result goes below or above certain levels.
Diabetes Screening
In the United States, diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death. It is a lifelong condition that negatively affects your body’s ability to use and produce insulin. People only manage diabetes through medication and lifestyle changes.
There is currently no cure for diabetes, so early diagnosis for this health condition is crucial. When older adults take the screening test and realize at an early stage they have diabetes, they will have a better chance to lower the risk of developing complications.
Quick tip: some easy ways to prevent diabetes are cutting sugar and refined carbs from your diet and drinking lots of water.
