What Blood Tests Should Every Woman Have Every Year?

One of the most common questions I hear is, “What blood tests should I have checked every year?”

There isn’t a single blood test panel that’s right for every woman. Your age, family history, symptoms, medications, and personal health goals all help determine which tests are most appropriate. That’s why preventive care works best when it’s personalized rather than one size fits all. I am going to discuss some of the tests that I commonly consider during a preventive care visit.

Learn more about Preventive Care

• A complete blood count (CBC)

  • looks for anemia and changes in your red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

  • It may be especially useful for women with heavy periods, fatigue, dietary restrictions, or a history of anemia.

• Iron Panel

  • Iron testing can include ferritin, which reflects the body’s stored iron.

  • Iron stores may become low before anemia appears on a CBC, so ferritin can be helpful when someone has heavy menstrual bleeding, fatigue, hair loss, restless legs, or other risk factors for iron deficiency.

  
  

• A comprehensive metabolic panel provides information about kidney function, liver enzymes, electrolytes, blood sugar, and protein levels.

  
  

• Thyroid panel

  • Thyroid testing usually begins with a TSH/T4. Broader testing may be appropriate when symptoms, examination findings, pregnancy plans, medications, or a personal or family history raise concern for thyroid disease.

    
    

• Vitamin testing

  • Vitamin D and vitamin B12 testing may be useful when someone has symptoms or risk factors, such as limited sun exposure, a restrictive diet, gastrointestinal conditions, certain medications, or a previous deficiency.

    
    

• Lipid panel

  • Cholesterol testing helps assess cardiovascular risk. Blood sugar screening may be done with an A1c or fasting glucose, particularly when someone has risk factors such as excess weight, a family history of diabetes, a history of gestational diabetes, or PCOS.

  • In selected patients, additional testing such as lipoprotein(a), apolipoprotein B, fasting insulin, or high sensitivity CRP may offer more context. These are not universal annual tests, but they can be useful when evaluating cardiovascular or metabolic risk more closely.

The goal of preventive blood work is to choose tests that are meaningful for you, understand the results in context, and use them to guide your health over time.

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