As India marks International Women’s Day, the conversation on women’s empowerment is increasingly, and rightly, turning toward preventive health. For women in their 30s, this decade is no longer a “safe zone” where serious illnesses are only a distant possibility; rising rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hormonal disorders are reshaping that perception. In an interaction with IndiaMedToday, Dr. Mayanka Lodha Seth, Chief Pathologist at Redcliffe Labs, explains why timely screenings for cervical and breast cancer, heart and metabolic health, and key hormonal conditions must become non-negotiable parts of every woman’s routine care. She argues that shifting from reactive treatment to proactive prevention in this age group is not just good medicine, it is central to safeguarding women’s long-term health, financial security and quality of life.
As India celebrates International Women’s Day, the spotlight on women’s empowerment rightly includes health, specifically, preventive screenings for women in their 30s. Although heart disease and cancer are often perceived as health problems of older adults, the growing body of evidence suggests that absence of early detection can prove to be a potentially fatal event. Preventive health screenings allow women to proactively monitor their health well, prior to ever exhibiting symptoms of ill health.
Recent data from Government agencies indicates the substantial improvement made in providing appropriate cancer screening services to women. As reported by the Union Health Minister, by early 2025, an estimated 14.6 crore women were expected to have received breast cancer screening and over 9 crore women were expected to have received screening for cervical cancer by early 2025 through the National Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) screening initiative. Furthermore, in 2025 alone, over 1.20 crore women aged 30 and over were provided cervical cancer screening via population-based preventive services. These numbers show an impressive increase in the number of women receiving cervical cancer screenings, with approximately 2.11 million cervical cancer screenings conducted during 2020-2021, and over 12.7 million cervical cancer screenings projected by the end of 2025, illustrating a positive trend toward the increased coverage of cervical cancer screenings.
These increases reflect evidence of success in the work accomplished to date by national Government programs such as the National Programme for Prevention and Control of NCDs.
Beyond Cancer: Cardiovascular and Metabolic Screening
Although screenings for cancer are essential, they only represent one part of the prevention equation. Cardiovascular disease has recently become one of the top three causes of mortality for women in India. Community-based ECG screening campaigns have been launched nationwide, providing thousands of free ECGs on the day of health initiative launches in order to promote awareness about cardiovascular health. Regular checks of blood pressure, lipids (cholesterol), and glucose (sugar) through simple tests performed by primary care providers are essential to detecting hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular risk prior to the development of severe complications.
Data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shows that under the population-based NCD screening initiative through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and Primary Health Centres, millions have been screened for hypertension and diabetes, underscoring the broad reach of preventive services being offered across India.
The Gap: Awareness and Access
Nevertheless, despite the advances made, participation in preventive screening is still very low. Multiple barriers exist to routine screening participation, such as a lack of knowledge about screenings, cultural taboos against reproductive health, and barriers to accessing routine screenings due to geographical factors related to the location of medical facilities.
For example, while national figures show millions screened, screening coverage for cancers and other NCDs often remains far below international targets, with large swathes of eligible women never being tested, especially outside urban centres. Additionally, even where services exist, only a small percentage of women aged 30–50 are consistently participating in recommended screenings, according to analysis and health system reporting.
Because of low access to health centres, access to cancer and other non-communicable disease screening is significantly lower than recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In addition to having low access to screening services, only a small number of women between 30 and 50 years of age actually participate in recommended screenings. This has been shown through health reports and analyses completed by health systems.
Screenings Women in Their 30s Should Prioritize
For women in their 30s, the following should be part of routine health care:
- Cervical cancer screening: Women 30 years and older should have an HPV test every 3 to 5 years. Early detection of such a disease has helped reduce the fatalities from cervical cancer.
- Breast Health: Women should perform regular breast self-exams and have a clinical breast exam. Mammographers should consider risk factors when determining when to perform mammograms.
- Blood Pressure, Lipid Profiling: Women should get their blood pressure and lipid profile checked at least annually for early signs of hypertension or Cardiovascular problems.
- Blood Glucose and Diabetes Screening: This is especially important due to increasing rates of Type 2 diabetes in younger populations.
- Reproductive-Hormonal Evaluations: Evaluating the thyroid and reproductive systems is essential to early detection of diseases, for example, Conditions like PCOS and thyroid disorder could be detected early on.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, now is an ideal time to reiterate that routine examinations should never be regarded as take it or leave it; they are a vital part of life. By routine examination, women can also develop healthier futures for themselves and others, and prevent excessive amounts of money spent on long-term medical care and costly long-term improvements to their quality of life.
Health care organisations, policymakers, workplaces, and family members must collaborate to bring preventive health practices into the mainstream as normative behaviours for women in their 30s. Making preventive health practises common for women in their 30s will help change India’s health care system from responding to health problems (reactive) to preventing health problems (preventive) and being able to support women in their pursuit of living long, healthy, fulfilling lives.
