USPSTF Screening Recommendations for the AANPCB FNP Exam, From Newborn to Older Adult

Where screening sits on the AANPCB FNP exam

Screening is not a separate section of NPCB's exam, but it runs through it. On NPCB's FNP certification page, one of the three Assess tasks is to "order, perform, and interpret screening and diagnostic tests," and Assess is the largest domain, with 43 of 135 scored items. One of the knowledge areas is "health promotion, harm reduction, and disease prevention."

NPCB does not say which screening guideline its items follow, and its reference list names textbooks rather than the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. In Passy's view, the USPSTF is still the most useful single reference for primary care screening, because it grades the evidence for each population and publishes clear ages and intervals. Everything below comes from the USPSTF's own pages, as checked on October 28, 2026.

USPSTF grades in one line each

From the USPSTF's grade definitions:

In a question, an A or B usually means "do it," a D means "don't," and a C means the answer turns on a shared decision with the patient.

USPSTF screening and prevention for children and adolescents

From the USPSTF's A and B list, with the release date of each current recommendation:

USPSTF screening for adults 18 to 64

For men aged 55 to 69, PSA-based prostate cancer screening is a C: an individual decision after discussing benefits and harms. The USPSTF's prostate page adds that clinicians should not screen men who do not express a preference for screening.

USPSTF screening in pregnancy and before conception

Prenatal care belongs to the adolescent, young adult and middle adult groups on NPCB's blueprint, so these items can appear at any of those ages.

For tobacco cessation in pregnancy, the USPSTF finds the evidence on pharmacotherapy insufficient, an I statement, so behavioral support is the graded recommendation.

Older adults: where screening starts, continues and stops

Older adults are NPCB's largest age group, with 40 of 135 scored items, and much of older-adult screening turns on an upper age limit or a stop rule.

The depression screening recommendation for adults explicitly includes older adults 65 and older (B, June 2023), while the anxiety screening recommendation covers adults 64 or younger. For quick recall of these cutoffs, flashcards on screening ages are planned for AANPCB FNP prep, alongside diagnostic criteria and first-line drugs.

USPSTF screening intervals worth memorizing

Intervals come straight from the USPSTF pages for each topic:

• Colorectal cancer, ages 45 to 75. High-sensitivity guaiac FOBT or FIT every year, stool DNA-FIT every 1 to 3 years, CT colonography every 5 years, flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years, flexible sigmoidoscopy every 10 years plus annual FIT, or colonoscopy every 10 years. An abnormal stool test, CT colonography or flexible sigmoidoscopy needs follow-up colonoscopy
• Cervical cancer. Ages 21 to 29: cytology every 3 years. Ages 30 to 65: cytology every 3 years, high-risk HPV testing alone every 5 years, or cotesting every 5 years. Not before 21, and not after a hysterectomy with removal of the cervix in people with no history of CIN 2 or 3 or cervical cancer
• Breast cancer. Mammography every 2 years from 40 to 74. The USPSTF finds the evidence insufficient on supplemental ultrasound or MRI for dense breasts after a negative mammogram
• Hypertension. The USPSTF suggests yearly screening from 40 and for adults at increased risk, and every 3 to 5 years for adults 18 to 39 who are not at increased risk and had a normal reading. Confirm a new diagnosis with ambulatory or home measurements before treating
• Lung cancer. Every year with low-dose CT while eligible
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm. Once

These facts belong to the Assess domain's test-ordering task, which is also the largest block of practice planned for full prep: 368 Assess questions are listed for AANPCB FNP prep at launch. The AANPCB FNP question breakdown shows an original Assess example on aneurysm screening.

Related preventive services that show up next to screening

These are preventive medications or counseling, not screening tests, but they sit on the same USPSTF list:

• Statins. Prescribe for adults 40 to 75 with at least one cardiovascular risk factor and a 10-year risk of 10% or higher (B, August 2022)
• HIV preexposure prophylaxis. Prescribe effective antiretroviral therapy for persons at increased risk of HIV (A, August 2023)
• Weight. Offer or refer adults with a BMI of 30 or higher to intensive, multicomponent behavioral interventions (B, September 2018)
• Tobacco cessation in nonpregnant adults. Ask, advise, and provide behavioral interventions and FDA-approved pharmacotherapy (A, January 2021)
• Diet and physical activity. Offer or refer adults with cardiovascular risk factors to behavioral counseling (B, November 2020)
• Breast cancer risk reduction. Offer to prescribe risk-reducing medications such as tamoxifen, raloxifene or aromatase inhibitors to women at increased risk for breast cancer and at low risk for adverse medication effects (B, September 2019)

Where the USPSTF stands in late 2026

As checked on October 28, 2026, the newest current recommendations on the USPSTF's A and B list date from 2025, such as intimate partner violence screening (June 2025), syphilis screening in pregnancy (May 2025) and breastfeeding support (April 2025). The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports that the Task Force met on September 29 and 30, 2026, when eight new members joined and all 16 members were sworn in. The published recommendations above remain the current ones until the USPSTF replaces them, so check the A and B list again shortly before your exam.

Several topics in this guide are already being revised. On the USPSTF's Recommendations in Progress page, as checked on October 28, 2026, cervical cancer screening, perinatal depression prevention and unhealthy alcohol use screening are at the final stage, "Finalizing the Recommendation Statement." Prostate cancer screening, cognitive impairment screening, tobacco cessation in adults, tobacco prevention in children and adolescents, HIV screening, BRCA risk assessment, STI counseling, vision screening in young children and diet and physical activity counseling are at the earlier "Developing the Draft Recommendation Statement" stage. Draft wording is not a final recommendation, so learn the current statement and watch for the final one.

Two cautions for the exam itself. NPCB says its reference list is used in developing the exam, and a textbook can lag a guideline update, so for recently changed topics learn both the current rule and what changed. Breast cancer screening is one example: the 2024 recommendation replaced an individual decision for women in their 40s with biennial screening from 40. And other organizations publish their own screening guidance, which can differ from the USPSTF's. When a question names an organization, answer by that organization's rule.

Practicing screening questions for the AANPCB FNP exam

Screening facts stick when you apply them to a patient: age, sex, smoking history, pregnancy and prior results all change the answer. Try the 20 free AANPCB FNP practice questions, which include screening decisions such as autism screening at a well-child visit, and fit screening review into your weekly schedule with the free AANPCB FNP study planner. The AANPCB FNP knowledge areas guide covers the rest of the prevention topics NPCB lists.

When you want a larger set of screening questions, compare what each planned AANPCB FNP access period includes. Full prep is still being built, and checkout is not open.