High blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease. It is most common in black persons and persons older than 45.

Too much cholesterol can clog your blood vessels and is a major cause of heart disease.

Diabetes, or high blood sugar, is a major cause of blindness, kidney disease, high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and amputation of the lower legs and feet. Almost all adults who have diabetes have type 2 diabetes. This type usually appears in middle age. The number of people in the United States who have type 2 diabetes is growing.

Exercise, a healthy diet, and watching your weight can lower your chances of getting type 2 diabetes. If you already have diabetes, those health habits and quitting smoking can help you prevent or control many of the problems of diabetes.

Your risk for type 2 diabetes increases as you get older. In the United States, almost 1 in 5 people between the ages of 65 and 74 has diabetes.

Your risk for type 2 diabetes also is higher than average if:

• You are American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic, or black.
• You have a family member with diabetes.
• You are overweight.
• You had diabetes during pregnancy.

You may want to be tested for diabetes if you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol. If you have diabetes, you may need to maintain lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels than you would if you did not have diabetes.

Osteoporosis, or thinning bones, makes your bones break easily. This condition is more common in women than in men. After women have gone through menopause, their bodies make less estrogen (a hormone that helps protect their bones). Their bones become more prone to breaking.

Half of all women past menopause will break a bone during their lives. A bone density test can help determine whether your bones are prone to breaking. If they are prone to breaking, your doctor may suggest that you take a medicine to reduce your risk for fractures.

Women who are 65 or older should be tested regularly. You should begin to be tested for osteoporosis at age 60 if you are at increased risk for fractures, for example, if you weigh less than 155 pounds.

You can reduce your risk for osteoporosis by:

Which Foods Are High in Calcium? Foods in the milk group, such as milk and dishes made with milk, cheeses, and yogurt. (Choose lower fat, lower cholesterol foods, such as skim milk.) Canned fish with soft bones, such as sardines, anchovies, and salmon. Dark-green leafy vegetables, such as kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, and spinach. Tofu, if it is processed with calcium sulfate. Read the label to find out. Tortillas, if they are made from lime-processed corn. Read the label to find out.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection that affects the lungs and eventually other parts of the body. This infection can be passed from one person to the next. It is treated more easily if caught early.

You are at greater risk for TB and may need a TB test if:

• You have been in close contact with someone who has TB.
• You have recently moved from Asia, Africa, Central or South America, or the Pacific Islands.
• You have kidney failure, diabetes, HIV, or alcoholism.
• You have injected or now inject street drugs.