Men's preventive care: screenings and habits by age

Read Time

6 Minutes

Written by

Team Curative

Published

Jun 29, 2026

Why should your wellness plan be as unique as you are? Men face a different set of health risks than women — and a different set of habits get in the way of addressing them. Heart disease, prostate concerns, and certain cancers hit men harder. So does one quieter problem: men, on average, simply don't go to the doctor as often as they should.

Understanding the health concerns most likely to affect you — and building a steady relationship with a primary care provider — is how preventive care actually works. Here's what to know.

A quick note on terminology. In this article we'll focus on health concerns tied to biological sex, which is rooted in anatomy, physiology, genetics, and hormones. Gender is something different — it covers identity, expression, and the social expectations associated with it. Gender-affirming care is its own important area. Here, we're focused on what your biology tells us about staying healthy.

Why men skip the doctor

June is Men's Health Month, and it exists because the data keeps telling the same story: men, on average, don't show up for their own care.

A Cleveland Clinic survey of more than 1,000 men found that 55% of men aren't getting regular health screenings, and 40% don't see a doctor until they fear something is seriously wrong. Even when men do go in, their visits tend to be shorter than women's, and they're more likely to leave out details that could shape their care.

The reasons are well-studied: feeling fine right now, not wanting to take time off, discomfort with vulnerability, hassle of finding a provider, and uncertainty about cost. Most of those reasons are about friction, not denial — and friction is something a good health plan can remove.

As one primary care physician put it: by putting off regular exams and screenings, men may be in much worse condition by the time a disease is caught than they would have been if they'd gone in earlier. Establishing care with a primary care provider is one of the most effective ways to break that cycle.

The health risks that hit men harder

Men face elevated risk for several serious conditions, including heart disease (the leading cause of death for men in the U.S.), cancer — especially lung, prostate, and colorectal — stroke, unintentional injury, lung disease, and type 2 diabetes.

A few stand out for early-conversation potential:

Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among American men, with about 35,250 deaths projected in 2024. Risk rises sharply when a close family member has been diagnosed, which makes family history one of the most important things to share with your provider.

Erectile dysfunction affects an estimated 30 million men in the U.S. and becomes more common with age. It's also frequently an early warning sign for heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes — meaning a conversation about ED is often a conversation about something bigger.

Colorectal cancer rates have been rising in younger adults, which is part of why the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force lowered the recommended screening start age from 50 to 45 in 2021.

Mental health: a conversation worth having

The mental health story for men is especially stark. Men in the U.S. die by suicide at nearly four times the rate of women. About 6 million American men experience Major Depression each year, and many are never diagnosed or treated.

Men's symptoms can look different than the textbook picture of depression. Irritability, anger, withdrawal, sleep changes, increased alcohol use, and reckless behavior often go unrecognized — by the men experiencing them and by the people around them.

The path forward is the same one that works for physical health: a trusted provider, a low-friction way to start the conversation, and ongoing support. Curative members have access to mental health support, including therapy and virtual visits.

Preventive screenings for men, by life stage

Highly recommended preventive screenings include:

Ages 20–30: Eye exams every two to four years; regular HIV testing; blood pressure check at every visit
Age 35: Begin cholesterol screenings
Age 40: Type 2 diabetes screening
Age 45: Begin colorectal cancer screening; discuss prostate screening with your provider
Age 60: Hearing exams; screening for dementia and Alzheimer's
Age 70: Bone mineral density scan to check for osteoporosis

This is a baseline — your provider will tailor recommendations based on your personal and family history.

Lifestyle moves that move the needle

Preventive care isn't only screenings. Day-to-day habits do more to shape long-term outcomes than almost anything else:

Move regularly. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity per week.
Watch alcohol. Heavy use is linked to several of the cancers and chronic conditions that hit men hardest.
Don't smoke. If you do, talk to your provider about cessation support — it's one of the most impactful changes you can make.
Sleep. Consistently getting fewer than seven hours raises cardiovascular and metabolic risk.
Get your numbers. Blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose are simple measurements that reveal a lot.

None of this is news. The hard part is making it easier to do.

How Curative makes preventive care easier

Curative was built around a simple idea: when cost and complexity stop getting in the way, people actually use the care that's available to them.

Your Curative experience starts with the Baseline Visit:

A virtual visit with a clinician, from home
Uninterrupted time to talk through your health history and goals
A walk-through of your benefits with a Curative Care Navigator
A health roadmap with next steps to take
$0 cost to you

For men who haven't seen a doctor in years, the Baseline Visit is built for exactly that situation: low-pressure, on your schedule, and designed to identify undiagnosed conditions early.

After your Baseline Visit, your Care Navigator stays with you. They connect you with the right provider, build preventive care strategies, handle prescription transfers, and provide steady support — so you don't have to figure out the system on your own.

Curative members also get $0 copays on most prescriptions and primary care visits, $0 deductible across the plan, covered mental health support, and preventive screenings like Galleri's multi-cancer detection test.

About Curative

When you're covered by Curative, you get personalized guidance through every step of your healthcare journey. The plan is designed to remove the friction traditional insurance creates, so you can focus on staying healthy instead of decoding your benefits.

Our mission is straightforward: a sustainable healthcare plan that makes it easy to actually achieve better health. No copays. No deductibles. No, really.

Learn more about preventive care with Curative.