General Health Checkups for Men

Many men don't see a medical doctor after childhood because they feel healthy, and they don't have the time or energy to see a doctor for a general health checkup. In many cases, unfortunately, men finally see a doctor in their 50's and find out that they have heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, or another serious health condition. Our urologists feel strongly that men should see a doctor at age 40 for a general health checkup. We believe that measures that men take in their 40's to maintain good health will directly affect their life expectancy and health in old age. Many conditions that affect aging men don't cause any symptoms until serious health problems occur, including high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, thyroid disease, and prostate cancer. A general checkup at age 40 can help to prevent some of these conditions from causing heart disease, erectile dysfunction and other age-related health problems. The following is a list of tests that we recommend as part of a general men's health checkup.

Lipid Panel

A lipid panel tests cholesterol levels and can provide information regarding risk of heart disease.

Blood Pressure Check

High blood pressure causes heart disease, strokes, kidney disease, and erectile dysfunction. Men can have high blood pressure for many years without symptoms.

Blood glucose testing for diabetes

Diabetes is a condition in which blood sugar (glucose) levels are high, and it can contribute to heart disease and erectile dysfunction. A fasting blood glucose level tests for diabetes.

Prostate cancer screening

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, and the second cause of cancer death in men. There is controversy among doctors about the benefits of screening for prostate cancer, but most urologists believe that younger men with more than 10 years of life expectancy will benefit from screening.

The most common current test for prostate cancer is a blood test called PSA. An elevated PSA, based on a man's age and the size of his prostate, indicates an increased risk of prostate cancer. The PSA begins to rise several years before a serious prostate cancer can spread, so men who have PSA testing can be diagnosed and treated while their cancers are still curable. Some men who do not undergo prostate cancer screening are diagnosed after their cancer is incurable, and each year we find a few young men in their 40's with prostate cancer that may not have been curable if they had not been screened.

We recommend that men have a PSA blood test at age 40, 45, 50 and then every year or two while they are in good health. A digital prostate exam is also part of prostate cancer screening.

Testosterone testing

Testosterone levels decline as men age, and a low testosterone level can cause a number of symptoms, including decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction, depression, weight gain, and decreased strength and endurance. An early morning blood test can measure testosterone levels, and there are several ways to increase testosterone levels.

Colonoscopy

Colonoscopy is a test to diagnose early colon cancer. It is recommended that men and women undergo colonoscopy at age 50, and then every 5 years. Men and women should have colonscopy earlier if they have a family history of colon cancer.

Thyroid testing

The thyroid gland helps to control many functions in the body, and low thyroid hormone levels can cause weight gain, fatigue, insomnia, constipation, hair loss, skin changes, and changes in sexual function. High thyroid hormone levels can cause weight loss, irritability, diarrhea, sweating, poor sleeping and sexual dysfunction.