Women have spent decades being told their concerns weren’t urgent enough, their symptoms weren’t specific enough, or their intuition wasn’t evidence enough. But a growing number are done with waiting for permission. They’re scanning proactively, advocating for earlier answers, and demanding more information about their health.
Across more than 83,000 whole body MRIs in women, Prenuvo internal data found a clear pattern: many came in without a specific concern, but findings still appeared. In this dataset, approximately 72% showed up for proactive reasons, but roughly 65% of women aged 40-60 had a finding that led to a recommended follow-up. Because feeling fine is not the same as nothing being there.
Related: The most common health misdiagnoses in women
What shows up, and how it changes by age
Even among many women who felt fine, the likelihood of finding something that warranted follow-up increased steadily with age from about 54% in their 30s, to roughly 61% in their 40s, 69% in their 50s, and 76% in their 60s.
In women in their 30s, the most common findings included indeterminate thyroid nodules (6.64%), liver fat deposit (6.45%), polycystic ovary (4.11%), uterine adenomyosis (3.3%), and uterine fibroid (2.72%). Oncologically suspicious findings were rare in this group, but when they did appear, they most often involved the lungs and breasts. Even in this group, about 1 in 170 scans revealed a finding that warranted follow-up.
In the 40s, those findings become more established. The leading findings were indeterminate thyroid nodules (8.1%), liver fat deposit (8.01%), uterine adenomyosis (6.33%), cervical spine spondyloarthropathy (6.08%), and uterine fibroid (5.57%). These conditions, particularly affecting the uterus and ovaries, become more prevalent during this decade, reflecting underlying hormonal and structural changes happening. Oncologically suspicious findings remained relatively uncommon, but when they did appear, they most frequently involved the lungs, followed by the breasts and brain.
Related: The 3 stages of menopause — and how they affect your health
In the 50s, structural degeneration moved to the top of the list. Cervical spine spondyloarthropathy appeared in 14.88% of women, followed by liver fat deposit (12.5%) and indeterminate thyroid nodules (10.12%). Uterine adenomyosis continued to appear in 5.12% of women. Oncologically suspicious findings become more apparent, with the lungs continuing to lead, alongside findings in the breasts, kidneys, brain, and liver.
In the 60s, structural degeneration became even more pronounced. Cervical spine spondyloarthropathy appeared in 24.28% of women, lumbar spine spondyloarthropathy in 13.87%, and spondylolisthesis in 11.2%. Liver fat deposit (15.5%) and indeterminate thyroid nodules (11.11%) remained among the top findings. Oncologically suspicious findings remained present in this group, with the lungs continuing to appear as the most common site, alongside findings in the kidneys, uterus, and breasts.
The progression is gradual and consistent, accumulating decade by decade.
Across more than 83,000 women, a few findings appear consistently.
About 1 in 10 had signs of liver fat, and roughly 1 in 12 had thyroid nodules. Brain aneurysms also appeared in about 1 in 43 women.
Early signs, not emergencies
These findings were categorized using Prenuvo’s internally developed Clinically Significant Diagnosis scale, ranging from CSD 1 through CSD 5. The majority fell into the earlier categories, warranting monitoring or follow-up, but not immediate intervention. They represent early signs, not crises.
This framing matters. The goal of helping to identify a thyroid nodule or early signs of liver fat is not to create fear, but to establish a baseline. To have the information early enough that options may remain open rather than late enough that they may be more limited.
Most findings, when caught early, may actually remain exactly that: findings. Manageable, monitorable, and meaningful only insofar as they shift awareness before the window for low-intervention response has closed.
What standard screenings may not cover
One finding across all three decades is worth pausing on: the lungs were the top site for oncologically suspicious findings in women in both their 50s and 60s, and among the top sites in the 40s as well.
This expands the picture of where meaningful findings can appear. It also reflects something structural: standard screening protocols are not designed to see across systems simultaneously. A mammogram addresses the breast. A Pap smear addresses the cervix. Lung cancer screening is typically reserved for long-term heavy smokers. Several conditions with meaningful health impact do not have routine screenings. These protocols are designed to evaluate specific organs or risk groups, rather than assess the body more broadly.
After age 65, the gap widens further. Mammography and Pap smears are often extended to longer intervals, specifically when oncologic risk is at its highest. The findings in women in their 60s, ranging across multiple organ systems, largely fall outside what those reduced-frequency protocols are designed to detect.
These findings were identified through an approach that allows multiple organ systems to be assessed in a single setting.
Related: The new proactive health standards for women
A different frame for “proactive”
The word proactive has been stretched a bit in wellness circles. It has come to mean supplements, habits, and optimizations of the visible surface of health. What this data points toward is something more subtle, but also more concrete.
Proactive, in this context, means having information before circumstances demand it. It means knowing about uterine adenomyosis in your 40s, when it can be monitored and managed. It means catching liver fat in your 50s, when metabolic intervention is still the relevant response. It means not waiting until the 60s when standard screening is already pulling back to learn what may have been building quietly for years.
Some may argue this is fueling health anxiety or medicalization of ordinary life, but it’s not. It is about the straightforward value of information, gathered early enough to be potentially useful.
What the data doesn’t say — and what it does
This dataset does not claim that every finding will progress. Most may not. It also does not suggest that whole body imaging should replace traditional screenings or clinical judgment, or that every incidental finding requires intervention. It doesn’t.
What it does show with consistency across more than 83,000+ scans and thousands of women is this: significant findings may exist in women who feel fine, across organs that standard screening does not routinely examine, and at rates that can increase meaningfully with each decade of life.
Coming in without a concern and leaving without a finding are not the same thing. That’s not a reason for alarm. But it is a reason to look.
To learn more about the benefits of whole body MRI, additional advanced imaging, blood labs, and Prenuvo Memberships, book a call with our Patient Services Team.
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