Why are smear tests only offered from the age of 25?

[blindeyes]

Someone I know has just been diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 25, as a result of them attending their first smear test.

She has 2 young children.

Why are smears only offered from the age of 25 in England? I know in Scotland the age is 20. Her cancer has obviously been developing for some time and it's sad to think this could have been prevented had she been offered a smear sooner.

It used to be 21 but they changed it to 25 to be in line with England. They should be offered for any woman who requests one. I do not understand why they are declined. I have had some irregular bleeding and requested one but was turned down as I had one 2 years ago. Moving soon so will take it up with new GP.

The age for smear tests in Scotland is now 25, it went up 2 years ago. I was lucky enough (just) to get my smear test just aged 20 just before they changed it & the nurse told me one of the reasons was because your cells change constantly throughout your cycle & so many young women were getting abnormal results that then went back to Normal on their own within around 6 months - a year. Personally I think they should be offered at 16 or 18, or even just when women become sexually active.

I had my first child at 20 and was advised to have a smear test because of the pregnancy. I was 21 when I had the test and my results came back abnormal, later found out it was due to pregnancy changes.
During my colposcopy the nurse asked why I was having a test so young and I said I was told to. I said wasn't it a good job I did as my results were abnormal. And they said no because most women under 25 will have abnormal results as they are still changing and it is a waste of resources to investigate them all.

Ohwow, were you offered a colposcopy? I had similar irregular bleeding recently and was sent for a colp, they just skip out the smear test stage.

Before the age of 25 the cervix can go through natural changes that would result in pointless treatment which can cause long-term issues. Symptoms such as bleeding etc don't mean you need a cervical screening test, you need a referral to gynecology.

Thought it was offered from 24? I had my first smear test this year (in England) and I am only 24?

I suppose good news is that with the HPV vaccine my generation and below now get against the virus that causes vast majority of Cervical Cancer we should start seeing a decline in HPV-related cancers.

I am sorry to hear your friend had bad news though OP - my thoughts are with her and her children

I’m 35 and when I was younger it was offered a year after sexual activity- or do I remeber wrong ?

I thought it was a budget thing where they basically look at the risks and the costs and come up with an age.

I’m from the US and over there we start having them when we are sexually active. I never had an abnormal result and only know one person who did, so anecdotally speaking I’m not sure that being younger really skews the results.

I have had some irregular bleeding and requested one but was turned down as I had one 2 years ago. Moving soon so will take it up with new GP.

This wouldn’t be anything to do with the screening programme. You needed a diagnostic test/investigations to find out the cause of your bleeding. Screening tests are for people with no symptoms.

The screening programme starts at 25 because that’s when the benefits of testing outweigh the risks of treating abnormalities that would just resolve themselves.

I’m sorry about your friend, and I think it’s only natural that that’ll make you question the way screening is carried out, but there’s been a lot of research into this and there is no evidence that lowering the screening age prevents cervical cancer. In countries where screening is offered from the age of 20, there isn’t any difference in the number of women under 25 who are diagnosed with cervical cancer than in the UK.

The other reason is that it’s very common amongst under 25 year olds to have abnormal cells, but in the overwhelming majority of cases this will resolve on its own, with no intervention. When these cells are found early this can lead to unnecessary treatment, which in some cases will affect future pregnancies, and obviously cause a lot of anxiety and upset.

At the end of the day cervical cancer is (luckily) really rare in under 25s, and because of the HPV vaccination programme it’s likely to become even rarer in the future.

I distinctly remember having my first smear at 18, I'd no idea that wasn't normal

Where I am (not the uk) they're offered routinely from 30. I'd had a few in the UK before I moved away and was due one after I'd been here about a year. It was awful having to wait those 4 years extra, apparently they would have done one if I'd have had any symptoms but I didn't so no dice

I also had irregular bleeding, bleeding after intercourse and spotting between periods and lots of pain!! I mentioned it during my health check for my PCOS and was sent for triple swabs doing. I asked the nurse doing the swabs if I could have another smear test done at the same time and she said no because I'd only had one done the year before and the lab would just quash the test for that reason. I was like yeah but anything could've changed in a year!! I'm seeing a gynaecologist now, have had more examinations done and nothing untoward was spotted and the conclusion to the pain is because I have an Inverted uterus