The appointments that get postponed

Men are, on average, less likely to have a regular clinician and more likely to present later in the course of a problem. The consequence is not primarily that men get more diseases; it is that they get them found later, when the options are narrower.

The list below is not exhaustive and the right timing depends on age, family history and personal risk. It is a prompt for a conversation, not a substitute for one.

Cardiometabolic

• Blood pressure. Symptomless for years and one of the most modifiable risk factors there is.
• Lipids. Worth interpreting alongside overall cardiovascular risk rather than as a single pass/fail number.
• Glucose or HbA1c. Insulin resistance typically precedes a diabetes diagnosis by years — years during which intervention works best.

Cancer screening

• Colorectal screening from the recommended starting age, earlier with family history. Several screening methods exist, including non-invasive options worth asking about if that is the barrier.
• Prostate screening — a shared decision with your clinician, weighing age, family history and personal preference regarding follow-up.
• Skin checks, particularly with significant sun exposure or a history of burns.

Sleep and mental health

Snoring with pauses or gasping, unrefreshing sleep, or persistent daytime sleepiness warrant evaluation for sleep-disordered breathing. And mood, anxiety and alcohol use are clinical topics — not ones to be raised only if the clinician asks first.

Almost everything on this page is more useful early and less useful late. That is the entire argument for scheduling it while you feel fine.

If it has been more than a couple of years since a full evaluation, that is the appointment worth booking — not a further round of reading.