Full blood check-up for women: the tests that matter

A check-up for a woman uses the same tests as one for a man. What changes is what to look at: iron with your periods, the thyroid, cholesterol around menopause. Here is what matters at each age, when you need hormone tests and what it costs.

What is different for women

The tests in a good check-up are the same for women and men. The Rosa panel is the same too.

For women, three things change. Some limits on the lab report are different, for example for ferritin and haemoglobin. Some problems are more common, like low iron and thyroid disorders. And with age, especially around menopause, some values move.

The tests that matter most

These are the tests not to leave out. Tap a test to learn what it measures.

They are all in the Rosa panel, together with the other tests of the full check-up.

What to look at, age by age

The tests stay the same. What changes is where to pay more attention:

The screenings for breast, cervix and bowel have their own ages: you will find them further down.

What to watch changes with the years. The panel stays the same: what changes is which values to follow more closely.

Blood tests for menopause

After 45, perimenopause and menopause are recognised from symptoms and periods, without blood tests. New hot flushes and changing periods are enough for a doctor to tell.

Menopause means you have had no period for at least 12 months and you are not taking the pill or other hormones.

FSH, the hormone that rises towards menopause, helps only in some cases: between 40 and 45 with symptoms and changing periods, or before 40 if the doctor suspects early menopause. If you take the combined pill, it tells you nothing.

There is no single table of hormone values for menopause. In the transition years FSH, LH and estradiol rise and fall from one month to the next, and every lab prints its own ranges. After menopause, FSH and LH usually stay high and estradiol low.

The Rosa panel does not measure FSH, LH or estradiol. It measures cholesterol, blood sugar, ferritin, vitamin D and TSH, the values that often move in these years.

Hormone tests for women: when you need them

Sex hormones change with your cycle, your age and the time of the draw. That is why they are not measured for prevention, when you feel well. Your GP, gynaecologist or endocrinologist orders them when there is a specific question.

The day matters too. FSH, LH and estradiol are usually done between the second and fourth day of your cycle, progesterone a week before your next period is due.

None of these tests is in the Rosa panel. If you need them, your doctor orders them.

Blood tests for hair loss

Losing more hair than usual often happens a few months after giving birth, a big stress, a high fever or a crash diet. In these cases it usually grows back on its own.

Blood tests look for a cause that can be fixed. Doctors usually start with ferritin, because a low iron store can play a part, and with TSH, because a thyroid working too hard or too little can make hair fall out.

If your hair thins slowly on the top of your head, or you also have irregular periods, acne or excess hair, your doctor or dermatologist may ask for other tests, for example hormones.

The Rosa panel includes ferritin, iron, haemoglobin and TSH. If you take hair supplements with biotin, ask your doctor whether to pause them for at least two days before the draw: they can skew some tests.

The screenings that are not blood tests

A blood check-up does not find cancer. For three cancers the Italian health service offers free screening, with an invitation from your local health authority (ASL):

If no invitation arrives, ask your ASL or your GP. If cancer runs in your family, your doctor may advise different checks.

What a full check-up for women costs

At private labs, packages for women usually cost €70 to €170, for 15 to 32 tests. With a GP prescription you pay a co-payment, the ticket: less, or nothing, if an exemption covers those tests.

Before you choose, look at which tests are inside, not how many.

With Rosa it costs €295 a year, the same for women and men: two draws, 31 tests in the first, every value explained and a doctor who approves your report.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Rosa check-up different for women? No, the panel is the same. What changes is how some values are read: for ferritin and haemoglobin, for example, the limits on the lab report differ between women and men.

Which blood tests should I have in menopause? After 45 you do not need hormone tests to tell whether you are in menopause. You need the tests that change in those years: LDL cholesterol, glucose and HbA1c, ferritin if your periods are heavy, vitamin D. Your doctor decides whether to add more.

Does Rosa measure female hormones? No. FSH, LH, estradiol, progesterone, prolactin and testosterone are not in the panel. They change a lot with your cycle and help when there is a specific question: your doctor or gynaecologist orders them.

Do I need other tests after 40? The blood tests stay the same. Following them over time matters more, especially cholesterol, blood sugar and ferritin, and so does keeping up with screening: a mammogram from 50, in some regions from 45.

Do I need to do it on a specific day of my cycle? Not for the blood tests in the check-up. The day of your cycle matters for sex hormones, which the check-up does not measure. For urine it does: during your period the sample is not reliable, so it is better to book a few days after it ends.

I take the pill: can I do the check-up? Yes, keep taking it. The pill can raise some values, like triglycerides: tell the doctor who reads your results.

Do your full check-up with Rosa

31 tests in the first draw, including ferritin, TSH, vitamin D and cholesterol, and a re-check of your key values six months later. Every value explained and a doctor who approves your report. At a partner lab, no prescription needed. €295 a year.

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