Colorectal cancer (CRC) is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50 and the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., highlighting the importance of routine screenings.

Adults 65 and younger comprise nearly half (45%) of all new cases — a significant increase from 27% in 1995, according to a report from the American Cancer Society.

“Once considered a disease that primarily affected people over 50, we are now seeing increasing diagnoses in patients in their 20s, 30s and 40s — making it even more important not to dismiss symptoms based on age alone,” Dr. Timothy Cannon, director of the Molecular Tumor Board and co-director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Program at Inova in Virginia, told Fox News Digital.

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Official health agencies recommend that CRC screenings start at age 45 and continue through age 75 for adults at “average risk.”

Stool-based tests can be used to detect blood or DNA changes, potential indicators of cancer. Depending on the type of stool test, it can be performed every one to three years.

A colonoscopy is a medical procedure that allows a doctor to examine the inside of the patient’s colon and rectum using a thin, flexible tube with a camera on the end. For average-risk adults, a colonoscopy is typically done every 10 years.

“Colonoscopy remains the gold standard because it not only detects cancer early, but can also prevent it by identifying and removing precancerous polyps,” Cannon said.

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Dr. Michael Martin, a California physician, emphasized that colonoscopy is generally preferred for younger patients who are clearly at higher risk. 

“Stool-based tests are appropriate screening options for average-risk adults, but they are not the best choice for people with significant family history, inflammatory bowel disease, hereditary syndromes or alarm symptoms,” he told Fox News Digital. “If symptoms are present, the goal is not screening but diagnosis, and colonoscopy is usually the more appropriate test.”

3 reasons to get screened before 45

Doctors may suggest earlier screenings for people who fall into the following higher-risk groups.

Strong family history

“A family history can make screening earlier and more frequent,” Martin told Fox News Digital.

The American College of Gastroenterology recommends early screening if one first-degree relative is diagnosed with colorectal cancer or an advanced polyp before age 60, or if two first-degree relatives are diagnosed at any age.

“They should generally start colonoscopy at age 40 or 10 years before the youngest affected relative’s diagnosis, whichever comes first,” Martin said. “In that setting, repeat the colonoscopy every five years is then generally recommended.”

Critical symptoms

Cannon listed the following red flags that warrant earlier screenings.

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• Rectal bleeding with bright-red blood
• Dark or black stools
• Blood in the stool
• Persistent changes in bowel habits, such as new constipation or diarrhea
• Unexplained iron-deficiency anemia
• Ongoing abdominal pain or cramping
• Unexplained weight loss
• Persistent sensation that the bowel is not emptying fully

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“While many of these symptoms can be caused by less serious conditions, they should never be ignored,” he said.

Rectal bleeding in particular should always be taken seriously, even in younger patients, Cannon said. 

“Too often, symptoms are attributed to hemorrhoids, diet, stress or athletic activity without further evaluation,” he noted. “Any persistent or unexplained bleeding warrants a conversation with a physician, and in some cases, a colonoscopy.”

“If something feels new, persistent, or concerning, don’t wait. Early evaluation can save your life.”

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Certain genetic conditions

Some common hereditary syndromes increase the risk of colorectal cancer and may warrant earlier screenings.

For example, people with Lynch syndrome — an inherited DNA mutation that greatly increases lifetime risk — should get a colonoscopy every one to two years starting at about 20–25 years old or two to five years before the youngest diagnosed family case, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP), another genetic variant, carries the risk of thousands of polyps and a nearly 100% lifetime risk of CRC, noted the American Cancer Society. Those with FAP are advised to start annual screenings at as early as 10 to 12 years old.

Several other syndromes and genetic variations — including Peutz–Jeghers Syndrome, Juvenile Polyposis Syndrome and MUTYH-Associated Polyposis (MAP) — can also warrant earlier screenings.

Inflammatory bowel disease 

Those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, face a higher lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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This is largely due to chronic inflammation that causes cellular changes. In this case, the patient may be advised to start colonoscopy screenings before age 45.

If someone falls into a category that warrants an early screening before 45, and then the screening is normal, the length of time until the next one will depend on the specific risk factors, according to Martin.

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“If it was performed because of a strong family history, repeating it every five years is common,” he advised. “If the person turns out not to have colon cancer (or an advanced polyp) and is closer to average risk than to high risk, the interval may be longer.” 

In many cases, early screenings will be covered by insurance, Martin said, but coverage rules can differ depending on whether the exam is classified as screening or diagnostic.

“Under federal law, recommended screening tests for average-risk patients are generally covered without cost-sharing, but a colonoscopy done because of symptoms is often considered diagnostic, as mentioned above,” he noted. “This can have an impact on deductibles or co-pays. The exact out-of-pocket cost varies by insurer and plan.”

The encouraging news is that colorectal cancer is often preventable, Cannon emphasized.

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“Most cancers develop slowly from precancerous polyps over many years,” he said. “Screening allows physicians to detect and remove these polyps before they turn into cancer.”

“The key message: If something feels new, persistent, or concerning, don’t wait. Early evaluation can save your life.”

Aging is often depicted as a steady decline, but new research suggests that many older adults actually improve over time.

Using more than a decade of data from a large, representative study of older Americans, Yale University researchers found that nearly half of adults 65 and older showed improvement in cognitive function, physical function or both.

The improvements were consistent across the study population, and were linked to the participants’ mindset about aging, according to a press release.

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“In contrast to a predominant belief or stereotype that age is a time of continuous and inevitable decline, we found evidence that a meaningful number of older persons actually show improvement over 12 years in cognitive and/or physical health,” lead author Becca Levy, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at Yale, told Fox News Digital.

The research, which was published in the journal Geriatrics, relied on data from the Health and Retirement Study, a federally supported, long-running survey of older Americans.

Researchers tracked changes in cognition using global performance tests and measured physical function based on walking speed, which was seen as a “vital sign” because of its strong links to disability, hospitalization and mortality.

Over a 12-year period, 45% of participants improved either mentally or physically. About 32% showed cognitive gains, while 28% improved physically, according to the study.

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“If you average everyone together, you see decline,” Levy said. “But when you look at individual trajectories, you uncover a very different story. A meaningful percentage of the older participants … got better.”

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A participant’s beliefs about aging appeared to influence the results, as those with more positive age beliefs were significantly more likely to show improvements in both cognition and walking speed.

This remained true even after accounting for factors such as age, sex, education, chronic disease, depression and the length of follow-up. Improvements were seen even among participants who started with “normal” levels of function, not just those recovering from injuries or illness. 

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“Individuals who have taken in more positive age beliefs … tend to have a lower stress response and lower stress biomarkers,” Levy said. Because age beliefs are modifiable, she noted, there could be a capacity for improvements later in life.

The study did have some limitations, the researchers acknowledged. It didn’t look at how muscles or brain cells change and adapt, which could help explain why people improved.

Future studies should examine improvement patterns for other types of cognition, such as spatial memory, they added.

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“In addition, although our participants were drawn from a nationally representative sample, it would be useful to examine patterns of improvement in additional cohorts that have a greater representation of different ethnic minority groups,” the researchers noted in the study.

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The authors said they hope the findings will debunk the myth that continuous physical and cognitive decline is inevitable.

“We found evidence that there could be psychological pathways, behavioral pathways and physiological pathways [by which age beliefs impact health],” said Levy. “It’s common, and it should be included in our understanding of the aging process.”

Scientists and physicians agree that there’s been a general decline in male fertility — but they aren’t sure why.

Social media buzz has pointed to a few environmental exposures as potential factors, including cellphones and electric vehicles.

But the reality is “more complicated” than that, according to experts who recently spoke to National Geographic.

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Although it’s not clear whether the decline is at a stage where it should be considered a crisis, numbers show that overall fertility — demographically measured by the number of babies born compared to women of child-bearing age — has decreased.

Dr. Alex Robles of the Columbia University Fertility Center in New York confirmed that clinical practitioners are “certainly seeing more couples where the male factor contributes to infertility.”

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“At least one-third of couples we evaluate have some male component,” he told Fox News Digital.

A 2017 meta-analysis published in Oxford Journals: Human Reproduction Update found that sperm counts in Western countries have declined by almost 60% globally since 1973. The 2023 update confirmed these same results.

Lead study author and epidemiologist Hagai Levine warned that this trend could lead to human extinction if it isn’t addressed.

“This is the canary in the coal mine,” Levine, public health physician at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health, told National Geographic. “It signifies that something is very wrong with our current environment, as lower sperm counts predict morbidity and mortality.”   

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These findings have been contradicted by other studies, however. A 2025 Cleveland Clinic analysis of studies from the last 53 years found sperm counts to be steady.

“There is no evidence to suggest that this decline is the cause of a precipitous decline in the ability to cause pregnancies,” primary study author Scott Lundy, a reproductive urologist at Cleveland Clinic, told National Geographic. “Most men, even with a modest decline in sperm counts, will still have no issues conceiving.”

Potential factors of decline

Multiple lifestyle factors can lead to a decline in male fertility, Robles noted, including obesity, smoking and diet, as well as environmental exposures and delayed parenthood.

National Geographic also reported that heavy drinking and marijuana use directly contribute to declining fertility and that quitting these habits, while also exercising and losing weight, can help.

Systemic inflammation, infection and disease can also have a “big, profound effect on the current status of fertility,” Lundy told National Geographic. 

Those who are getting over a fever from an infection, like the flu or COVID, will have a “drastically lower” sperm count for three months, he said.

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Male infertility can also be a marker of overall health, according to Robles. “Poor semen parameters are associated with other medical conditions and may signal underlying metabolic, hormonal or environmental issues,” he told Fox News Digital.

Allan Pacey, deputy dean of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at the University of Manchester, told National Geographic that the decline could be caused by increased use of contraception, as well as men waiting longer to have children or choosing not to have them at all.

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Microplastics have also been raised on social media as a potential culprit, but the effects are unclear, according to experts.

There is some evidence of endocrine-disrupting chemicals — which are substances found in reusable plastics and some disposable products — altering male fertility, Lundy revealed to National Geographic.

Myths busted

Concerns have circulated on social media that keeping a cellphone in a front pocket could harm male fertility. While Lundy said such an effect is biologically possible, there is currently no scientific evidence supporting the claim.

Another common myth is that infertility is mostly a women’s issue, Robles noted, but male factors contribute to about one-third to one-half of all cases.

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The claim that taking supplements can boost sperm counts is another common myth, he said, adding that it’s not backed by strong scientific evidence.

“Men should focus on factors that we know matter: maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol and managing chronic health conditions,” Robles advised. 

Experts recommend seeing a urologist to address fertility concerns. Robles said his approach begins with an evaluation, semen analysis, hormonal testing and medical history, while also exploring lifestyle factors.

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In addition to traditional treatment options, Robles said his fertility center also uses advanced tools that incorporate AI and robotics.

“Technologies like this are expanding options for patients who previously had very limited paths to biological parenthood,” he said.