How Often Should Adults Get a Blood Test?

Blood tests are one of the quieter parts of adult preventive health — no preparation, no discomfort to anticipate, and results that often come back reassuringly normal. Which is part of why they get forgotten. There’s no natural trigger to book one. Nothing prompts the question until a GP happens to mention it, or a friend says something, or a number of years pass and you realise you can’t remember the last time you had one done.

The truth is that routine blood tests catch things that have no symptoms at all — high cholesterol, elevated blood glucose, early signs of kidney or thyroid problems — long before they cause any visible sign. That’s the point of them. And knowing roughly how often adults should have them done is the difference between “I’ll get round to it” and actually doing it.

What a routine blood test actually measures

The phrase “blood test” covers a wide range of panels. A standard adult health check might include:

• Cholesterol (lipid profile) — total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides. Used to assess cardiovascular risk.
• Blood glucose / HbA1c — screens for type 2 diabetes and prediabetes.
• Full blood count (FBC) — looks at red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets; flags anaemia and some infections.
• Kidney and liver function — creatinine, eGFR, and liver enzymes.
• Thyroid function (TSH) — often included in routine panels, particularly for women over 50.

Not every test is done every time. Your doctor will typically select based on your age, symptoms, and known risk factors. Understanding which ones apply to you is the starting point for knowing how often to have them checked.

How often: what guidelines recommend

Cholesterol

Many guidelines recommend a baseline cholesterol check for adults in their 20s, then periodically throughout adulthood — but the interval depends significantly on your starting point and your cardiovascular risk.

The USPSTF recommends lipid screening for adults who have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including adults aged 35 and over without risk factors. In the UK, the NHS Health Check — offered to adults aged 40 to 74 every five years — includes a cholesterol measurement as standard. For adults with normal results and no particular risk factors, many health systems suggest rechecking every five years. If results are borderline, or if other risk factors are present (smoking, high blood pressure, family history of heart disease), more frequent testing is appropriate.

Guidelines vary by country and individual health circumstances. Consult your doctor for personalised advice.

Blood glucose / diabetes screening

The USPSTF recommends screening for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in adults aged 35 to 70 who are overweight or have obesity. For those who screen normal, retesting every three years is a common interval used in clinical practice — though your doctor may recommend more or less frequent checks based on your specific profile.

In the UK, the NHS Health Check includes a blood glucose assessment as part of the five-yearly check for adults aged 40 to 74. The NHS also operates a Diabetes Prevention Programme for people identified as at higher risk.

Type 2 diabetes develops gradually, and the prediabetes stage — where blood glucose is elevated but not yet at diagnostic levels — can last years. Catching it during that window allows for lifestyle changes that can significantly alter the trajectory. That’s why screening matters before symptoms appear.

Full blood count and other panels

Frequency for full blood counts and kidney or liver function panels is largely driven by clinical context. For healthy adults with no symptoms or known conditions, these aren’t typically done on a fixed routine schedule in the way cholesterol or blood glucose are. They’re usually included in a broader health check, ordered when symptoms suggest a reason, or monitored if a previous result was abnormal.

Thyroid function is sometimes added to routine panels — particularly for women over 50, where thyroid disorders become more common. If you’ve never had thyroid function checked and you’re in this age group, it’s worth raising with your GP.

Why age and risk factors change everything

A 28-year-old with no family history of heart disease, no smoking, and a healthy weight has a different blood test profile than a 55-year-old with hypertension and a father who had a heart attack at 60. The same tests apply in both cases, but the appropriate frequency is genuinely different.

This is why the honest answer to “how often should I get a blood test?” isn’t a simple number. The intervals in guidelines are written for populations — they describe what most people in a given category should do. Your doctor applies that framework to you specifically, adjusting for anything in your history, family background, or current measurements that shifts the calculation.

The general pattern for most adults without known conditions:

Test	General frequency guidance
Cholesterol (lipid profile)	Every 5 years from mid-30s; more often if borderline or risk factors present
Blood glucose / HbA1c	Every 3 years if normal, for adults aged 35–70 with relevant risk factors
Full blood count	As directed by your doctor; often included in broader health checks
Thyroid function	As directed; worth raising with GP if never checked, particularly over 50
Kidney / liver function	As directed; routine if monitoring a known condition

These are general frameworks based on population guidelines. Your own schedule should be discussed with your doctor.

The NHS Health Check: a practical starting point

For adults in England aged 40 to 74, the NHS Health Check is a free five-yearly appointment that covers many of the key blood tests and risk markers in one place — cholesterol, blood glucose, blood pressure, BMI, and cardiovascular risk. It’s offered proactively through GP surgeries.

If you’re in this age group and haven’t had one, it’s worth requesting. It covers more ground than most people realise, and it gives you a baseline that future checks can be compared to.

For a broader overview of what preventive screening looks like across adulthood — not just blood tests, but the full picture of what’s recommended at different ages — the adult health screening guide covers the landscape by decade.

Keeping track of when you’re next due

The challenge with blood tests isn’t usually the tests themselves — it’s the gap between appointments. Results come back, a GP files them, and unless something was flagged, there’s often no reminder for when to repeat them. Three years becomes five. Five becomes “I’m not sure, it’s been a while.”

Knowing when you last had each check — and roughly when you’re next due — is a simple thing that closes that gap. Screening Clearing is a free iOS and Android app for tracking personal health screening schedules, including routine blood tests. If you want to understand more about how screening fits into the broader picture of preventive health, why over-screening can do more harm than good explains the evidence behind why intervals are set the way they are — and why following them, rather than testing more often than necessary, is the right approach for most people.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should a healthy adult have a blood test?

For most healthy adults, a cholesterol check every five years and a blood glucose check every three years (for those aged 35–70 with relevant risk factors) are reasonable starting points. Adults in England aged 40–74 can access the NHS Health Check every five years, which includes both. If you have no risk factors and previous results were normal, some tests may be needed less frequently — your GP can advise what's appropriate for you.

Do I need a blood test every year?

For most adults with no known conditions and normal previous results, annual blood tests aren't routinely required. Some tests — such as cholesterol and blood glucose — are recommended on a longer cycle of three to five years for average-risk adults. More frequent testing may be appropriate if results were borderline, if you have risk factors like high blood pressure or a family history of heart disease, or if you're monitoring a known condition.

What blood tests are included in a routine check-up?

A standard adult health check typically includes a cholesterol (lipid profile) panel, blood glucose or HbA1c, and often a full blood count. Kidney and liver function tests and thyroid function may be included depending on age and clinical context. The specific tests ordered depend on your age, risk factors, and what your doctor considers relevant for you.

At what age should adults start getting blood tests?

Some basic checks — blood pressure, cholesterol if risk factors are present — may be relevant from the mid-20s onward. The USPSTF recommends blood glucose screening for adults aged 35–70 who are overweight or have obesity. In the UK, the NHS Health Check starts at age 40. Adults with a family history of heart disease, diabetes, or other relevant conditions may benefit from earlier baseline testing — this is worth discussing with a GP.

Can a blood test detect everything that might be wrong?

No. Routine blood tests screen for a defined set of markers — cholesterol, blood glucose, kidney and liver function, blood count, and sometimes thyroid function. They don't screen for every condition, and normal results don't rule out everything. Blood tests are one component of adult preventive health, alongside blood pressure checks, cancer screenings, and other tests appropriate to your age and profile.