Prevention Guidelines for Men 18 to 39

Screening tests and vaccines are an important part of managing your health. A screening test is done to find diseases in people who don't have any symptoms. The goal is to find a disease early so lifestyle changes and checkups can reduce the risk of disease. Or the goal may be to find it early to treat it most effectively. Screening tests are not used to diagnose a disease. But they are used to see if more testing is needed. Health counseling is important, too. Below are guidelines for these, for men ages 18 to 39. Talk with your healthcare provider to make sure you’re up to date on what you need.

Screening	Who needs it	How often
Alcohol misuse	All adults	At routine exams
Blood pressure	All adults	Yearly checkup if your blood pressure is normal* Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mm Hg* If your blood pressure is higher than normal, follow the advice of your healthcare provider
Depression	All adults who have access to healthcare provider for diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up	At routine exams
Diabetes mellitus, type 2	Adults who have no symptoms and are overweight or obese and have 1 or more extra risk factors for diabetes (such as having a close family member with diabetes)	At least every 3 years (yearly if blood sugar has started to rise)
Hepatitis C	If at increased risk	At routine exams
HIV	All men	At routine exams
High cholesterol and triglycerides	All men ages 35 and older, and younger men at high risk for coronary artery disease	At least every 5 years
Obesity	All adults	At routine exams
Syphilis	Anyone at increased risk for infection	At routine exams
Chlamydia	Anyone at increased risk for infection	At routine exams
Gonorrhea	Anyone at increased risk for infection	At routine exams
Tuberculosis	Anyone at increased risk for infection	Check with your healthcare provider
Vision	All men in this age group¹	Every 5 to 10 years if no risk factors for eye disease
Counseling	Who needs it	How often
Diet and exercise	Adults who are overweight or obese	When diagnosed and at routine exams
Sexually transmitted infection prevention	Men who are sexually active	At routine visits
Skin cancer	Prevention of skin cancer in fair-skinned adults through age 24	At routine visits
Tobacco use and tobacco-related disease	All adults	Every exam
Immunizations***	Who needs	How often
Tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis (Td/Tdap) booster	All adults	Td: every 10 years Tdap: Have a 1-time dose of Tdap instead of a Td booster after age 18, then boost with Td every 10 years.
Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)	All adults in this age group who have no record of previous infection or vaccines**	1 or 2 doses
Chickenpox (varicella)	All adults in this age group who have no record of this infection or vaccine**	2 doses. The second dose should be given 4 to 8 weeks after the first dose.
Flu (seasonal)	All adults	Yearly, when the vaccine is available
Hepatitis A	People at risk²	2 doses given at least 6 months apart
Hepatitis B	People at risk³	3 doses over 6 months. The second dose should be given 1 month after the first dose. The third dose should be given at least 2 months after the second dose (and at least 4 months after the first dose).
Haemophilus influenzae Type B (HIB)	People at risk	1 to 3 doses
Human papillomavirus (HPV)	All men in this age group up to age 26	2-3 doses (depending on the age at which the vaccine series began). If 3 doses are advised, the second dose should be given at least 1 month after the first dose and the third dose should be given at least 5 months after the first dose.
Meningococcal	People at risk⁴	1 or more doses
Pneumococcal (PCV13) and pneumococcal (PPSV23)	People at risk⁵	PCV13: 1 dose ages 19 to 65 (protects against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria) PPSV23: 1 to 3 doses depending on medical situation (protects against 23 types of pneumococcal bacteria) The type of vaccine used and the number of doses depends on age and medical situation. Talk with your healthcare provider about when and which type of vaccine is best for you.