What Singapore recommends.
Singapore’s Screening Test Review Committee sorts screening tests into three categories: recommended for everyone in an age group, recommended only for higher-risk groups, and not recommended. This page is the committee’s list, not this site’s grades. Where this site grades a test, the grade is linked.
Recommended for everyone in the age group
Category 1: tests with strong evidence that screening the whole age group is effective and cost-effective.
| Condition | Test | Who | How often | Graded on this site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure | Blood pressure measurement | Adults from 18 | At least once a year, and at other clinic visits | Not graded here |
| Obesity | Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference | Adults from 18 | Once a year | Not graded here |
| Diabetes | Fasting plasma glucose, or HbA1c | Adults from 40 | Every 3 years | Strong |
| High cholesterol | Lipid panel, fasting or non-fasting | Adults from 40 | Every 3 years | Strong |
| Colorectal cancer | Faecal immunochemical test (FIT), or colonoscopy | Adults from 50 | FIT once a year; colonoscopy every 5–10 years | Strong |
| Breast cancer | Mammography | Women aged 40–74 | Once a year at 40–49; every 2 years at 50–74 | Strong |
| Cervical cancer | Pap test at 25–29; HPV test from 30 | Women who have ever had sexual intercourse | Pap every 3 years; HPV every 5 years | Not graded here |
Cervical screening can stop at 69 after two negative results in the last 10 years, the most recent within 5 years. FIT may be preferred over colonoscopy at older ages because it is less invasive.
What these cost. For eligible Singapore Citizens, Healthier SG Screening covers the blood pressure, BMI, glucose and lipid checks (from 40), cervical screening and FIT for S$5 or less at a participating CHAS GP clinic. A subsidised mammogram is S$50. Pioneer and Merdeka Generation cardholders pay less; permanent residents should check rates with the clinic. HealthHub: Healthier SG Screening.
Recommended for higher-risk groups
Category 2: not worth it for everyone, but useful for defined groups. Whether to screen, from what age and how often is decided with a doctor.
| Condition | Test | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure | Blood pressure measurement | People with higher blood pressure or a major coronary risk factor such as diabetes or kidney disease |
| Diabetes | Fasting plasma glucose, or HbA1c | Adults of any age with a risk factor for diabetes |
| High cholesterol | Lipid panel | People with existing heart or blood-vessel disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, more than one cardiovascular risk factor, or a family history of early heart disease or familial hypercholesterolaemia |
| Osteoporosis | Bone mineral density (DEXA) scan | Women whose OSTA score points to a scan; men from 65 after a clinical risk assessment |
| Colorectal cancer | Colonoscopy; CT colonography if colonoscopy is not possible; FIT-DNA as an alternative to FIT | Family history of colorectal cancer or advanced polyps, Lynch syndrome, familial polyposis, or inflammatory bowel disease |
| Lung cancer | Low-dose CT, once a year | Age 50–80 with at least 20 pack-years of smoking, still smoking or quit within the last 15 years |
| Breast cancer | MRI breast, alongside mammography | Women at very high risk: carriers of BRCA or similar mutations, a strong family history of breast cancer, or past chest radiotherapy |
| Cervical cancer | Pap test yearly at 25–29; HPV every 3 years from 30 | Women who are immunocompromised, for example with HIV or after an organ transplant |
Not recommended for screening
Category 3: the evidence is too thin to judge, or there is good evidence the test does not work as a screen or does more harm than good.
| Condition | Test | Graded on this site |
|---|---|---|
| Obesity | Body fat measurement | On the DEXA page, which grades both uses together |
| Osteoporosis | Blood calcium, ESR, blood phosphate, heel ultrasound (QUS) | Not graded here |
| Breast, colorectal and lung cancer | Tumour markers, including CEA and CA 15-3 | Weak |
| Colorectal cancer | Methylated SEPT9 DNA test, abdominal X-ray, CT abdomen | Not graded here |
| Lung cancer | Chest X-ray | Weak |
| Breast cancer | Breast ultrasound | Not graded here |
Everything else
Volume 1 covers nine conditions. Most of the tests sold in longevity packages, such as ApoB, Lp(a), coronary calcium scoring, hs-CRP, epigenetic clocks and full-body MRI, are outside it. They have not been reviewed yet, which is not the same as not recommended. Volume 2 has not been published. Each test page says where its test stands, and the methodology explains how this guidance is used.
Source: Screening Test Review Committee report 2026, Volume 1 (Academy of Medicine Singapore and Ministry of Health, February 2026), Annexes B–D and Tables 1A–2E.