Preventive medicine combines routine care, screening, vaccination, and early risk detection. Recent U.S. estimates show uneven uptake: cancer screening is common for some age groups, while comprehensive preventive care, several adult vaccines, blood-pressure control, and diabetes detection remain less widespread.
Contents
- Overall preventive-service uptake
- Cancer screening
- Vaccination across adult age groups
- Cardiovascular risk factors
- Hypertension awareness and control
- Weight and diabetes indicators
Overall preventive-service uptake
The broadest measure in this set asks whether U.S. adults received all recommended high-priority appropriate clinical preventive services. Among adults aged 35 years and older, 8.5% met that measure in 2015, identified by the Healthy People 2030 data as the national baseline. By 2020, the share was 5.3%. The Healthy People 2030 national target is 11.5% for adults aged 35 years and older.
These figures describe a combined measure rather than one appointment or one test. A person may receive several recommended services while not meeting the all-services measure. The 2015 and 2020 estimates come from the Healthy People 2030 AHS-08 data. The source uses its specified objective methodology, so the figures should not be treated as independently verified outside that source.
The combined result provides useful context for the more specific indicators below. Preventive medicine is not a single behavior: screening, immunization, blood-pressure measurement, metabolic testing, and follow-up each have different age ranges and definitions.
Cancer screening
Cancer screening coverage varied by cancer type and eligible age group in 2023. Among U.S. women aged 50–74, 80.0% were up to date with USPSTF-recommended breast cancer screening. Among women aged 21–65, 75.4% were up to date with recommended cervical cancer screening. For colorectal cancer, 67.4% of U.S. adults aged 45–75 were up to date with USPSTF-recommended screening.
Colorectal screening showed a notable age gradient. Only 37.1% of adults aged 45–49 were up to date in 2023, compared with 73.4% of adults aged 50–75. The age-standardized share for adults aged 45–75 was 63.5% in 2023. For the narrower 50–75 age range, the age-standardized estimate was 70.3% in 2021 and 71.6% in 2023.
Breast screening also differed within the reported age ranges. In 2023, 62.1% of U.S. women aged 40–49 had received a mammogram within the prior two years, compared with 80.0% of women aged 50–74.
| Screening measure | U.S. population | Estimate | Measurement period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breast cancer screening up to date | Women aged 50–74 | 80.0% | 2023 |
| Cervical cancer screening up to date | Women aged 21–65 | 75.4% | 2023 |
| Colorectal screening up to date | Adults aged 45–75 | 67.4% | 2023 |
| Colorectal screening up to date | Adults aged 45–49 | 37.1% | 2023 |
| Colorectal screening up to date | Adults aged 50–75 | 73.4% | 2023 |
These screening estimates are from Use of Cancer Screening Tests, United States, 2023. “Up to date” follows the cited source’s USPSTF-based definitions; it does not mean every person needs the same test or schedule.
Vaccination across adult age groups
Adult vaccination coverage was especially different by age and indication in 2024. Among U.S. adults aged 19–64 at increased risk for pneumococcal disease, 24.1% had received at least one pneumococcal vaccine dose. The corresponding estimate for adults aged 19–49 at increased risk was 15.8%. Among all adults aged 50–64, 19.7% had received at least one pneumococcal dose, while 64.7% of all adults aged 65 and older had received at least one dose.
Herpes zoster vaccination coverage was 41.7% among U.S. adults aged 19 and older with an indication for vaccination. Among all adults aged 50 and older, 43.6% had received at least one herpes zoster vaccine dose; the estimate was 51.1% among adults aged 60 and older. Looking at the recombinant zoster vaccine series, 28.7% of adults aged 50 and older had received at least two doses.
Hepatitis A vaccination coverage was lower on the measure reported here: 28.4% of U.S. adults aged 19 and older had ever received hepatitis A vaccination in 2024.
The age and eligibility distinctions matter. The pneumococcal figures for younger adults apply to people at increased risk, whereas the 65-and-older figure covers all adults in that age group. The herpes zoster indication measure likewise differs from the all-adult age-group measures. These are NHIS estimates reported in Vaccination Coverage among Adults in the United States, National Health Interview Survey, 2024.
Cardiovascular risk factors
During August 2021–August 2023, 36.4% of U.S. adults aged 20 and older had none of four measured cardiovascular disease risk factors. Another 34.9% had one risk factor, and 28.7% had at least two. The source’s categories are based on its measured risk-factor definitions and should not be expanded into a different clinical definition.
The distribution varied by sex and age. At least two measured risk factors were present in 31.7% of men aged 20 and older and 25.8% of women. Among adults aged 20–39, 53.7% had no measured risk factors and 19.3% had at least two. Among adults aged 60 and older, 24.7% had none and 42.6% had one.
Income differences also appeared in the reported estimates. Among adults whose family income was at least 350% of the federal poverty level, 38.9% had no measured cardiovascular disease risk factors during the same period. This is a population subgroup estimate, not a measure of individual risk or a causal finding about income.
The estimates come from the CDC Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Adults, covering August 2021–August 2023. They are descriptive U.S. population estimates from the specified survey and measurement definitions.
Hypertension awareness and control
Hypertension affected 47.7% of U.S. adults aged 18 and older during August 2021–August 2023. Prevalence was 50.8% among men and 44.6% among women. It was 23.4% among adults aged 18–39 and 71.6% among adults aged 60 and older.
Among U.S. adults with hypertension, 59.2% were aware of their condition. Awareness was much lower among adults aged 18–39 with hypertension: 27.2%. Overall, 51.2% of adults with hypertension reported taking medication for it, compared with 69.1% of adults aged 60 and older with hypertension.
The control estimate was lower than the awareness and treatment estimates. Only 20.7% of U.S. adults with hypertension had controlled blood pressure below 130/80 mm Hg during the measurement period. Awareness, reported medication use, and measured control are separate indicators; one should not be substituted for another.
These statistics are from Hypertension Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment, and Control Among Adults Age 18 and Older. The dates are the measurement period, not the publication date, and the percentages use the source’s hypertension and control definitions.
Weight and diabetes indicators
Measured BMI estimates for August 2021–August 2023 classified 40.3% of U.S. adults aged 20 and older as having obesity, 9.7% as having severe obesity, and 31.7% as overweight but not obese. These categories are population estimates based on measured examinations, not self-reported weight.
During the same period, 15.8% of adults aged 20 and older had total diabetes. The total includes 11.3% with diagnosed diabetes and 4.5% with undiagnosed diabetes. Diabetes prevalence was 18.0% among men and 13.7% among women.
Age differences were substantial. Total diabetes prevalence rose from 3.6% among adults aged 20–39 to 27.3% among adults aged 60 and older. Diagnosed diabetes rose from 2.2% to 20.5% across those age groups, while undiagnosed diabetes rose from 1.3% to 6.8%.
The weight-related comparison was also pronounced: total diabetes prevalence was 24.2% among U.S. adults with obesity, compared with 6.8% among adults who were underweight or normal weight. This descriptive comparison does not establish that BMI category alone caused diabetes.
The obesity estimates are reported in Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity, and Severe Obesity Among Adults Age 20 and Older. The diabetes estimates are from Prevalence of Total, Diagnosed, and Undiagnosed Diabetes in Adults. Diabetes figures exclude gestational diabetes, and the cited NHANES estimates use measured examinations.
Together, these indicators show why preventive medicine is best understood as a set of age- and risk-specific actions. The reported U.S. estimates describe populations and measurement periods; they do not provide personal medical advice or determine which services an individual should receive.